In Budapest, a local pizzeria is turning back the clock with a limited-edition pizza inspired by ancient Rome, recreating a flatbread style from before tomatoes and mozzarella were part of European cuisine, the Associated Press reported.
At Neverland Pizzeria in central Budapest, founder Josep Zara and his team created the recipe using only ingredients from the Roman Empire without tomatoes or mozzarella.
Partly inspired by a 2023 archaeological find in Pompeii that showed a flatbread topped with pomegranate seeds and dates, Zara looked into Roman culinary history. He consulted sources such as the ancient cookbook «De re coquinaria,» and the team worked with a historian to compile a list of ingredients used in Roman times.
The pizza dough uses ancient grains like einkorn and spelt. To make it rise without modern equipment, the team used fermented spinach juice. This gives the pizza a denser crust than most modern versions.
The finished pizza is topped with ingredients linked to Roman cuisine, such as epityrum (olive paste), garum (fermented fish sauce), confit duck leg, toasted pine nuts, ricotta and a grape reduction.
The restaurant says this pizza is meant as a special offering, not a regular menu item. It reflects their effort to mix culinary experimentation with historical tradition.
