Recipes from 1979:
Pizza Italian Style
A nostalgic 1979 take on pizza, baked in a pie dish with a quick crust and simple savoury toppings.
Published May 6, 2026
Recipes from Ward W9 · 1979
This series comes from a yellowed little recipe booklet compiled by Ward W9 at Hutt Hospital in 1979, where my grandmother worked as a nurse.
I’m recreating the dishes exactly as written, translating them for modern kitchens, and discovering whether these retro recipes still deserve a place on the table today.
Some are brilliant, some are baffling, and all of them are a fascinating little slice of kitchen history.
THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: DESSERT
This retro “Pizza Italian Style” recipe comes straight from a 1979 cookbook and offers a fascinating glimpse into how pizza was interpreted in home kitchens at the time. Instead of a traditional yeast dough, the base is made from a simple baking powder crust that’s pressed into a pie dish, creating something that sits somewhere between a pizza and a savoury tart.
The filling is wonderfully straightforward. A layer of soft sautéed onion is topped with tomatoes, grated cheese, bacon and mushrooms, then baked until golden and bubbling. While it may not resemble the pizzas we know today, it’s a charming example of vintage home cooking and a reminder of how global flavours slowly made their way into everyday kitchens.
MY MODERN CONVERSION
INGREDIENTS
Crust
175 g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup milk
Filling
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup tomatoes (fresh diced or tinned)
125 g grated cheddar cheese
2 rashers bacon, chopped
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
METHOD
1.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced and lightly grease a 23 cm pie dish.
2.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and mix to form a soft dough.
3.
Divide the dough so that three quarters will form the base and sides of the crust and one quarter will form the rim. Roll out the larger portion and press it into the pie dish, covering the base and sides. Prick the base several times with a fork.
4.
Roll the remaining dough into a long strip and press it around the top edge of the dish to create a simple raised rim.
5.
In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the diced onion until soft and tender. Spread the cooked onion evenly over the pastry base.
6.
Spoon the tomatoes over the onion layer. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top, then scatter with the chopped bacon, sliced mushrooms, or both.
7.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden and the cheese is bubbling. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Taste Test
Testing this recipe felt like a small step back in time. I can absolutely see how this would have been an exciting dinner for a New Zealand family in 1979. The first Pizza Hut opened in Auckland in 1974, and at the time pizza was still considered something quite exotic.
From people who were around then, I’ve been told many New Zealanders wouldn’t even have known how to pronounce “pizza” in the late 1970s. Recipes like this were likely genuine attempts to recreate something people had heard about but rarely experienced. With limited exposure to Italian food and very different ingredient availability, home cooks were essentially making their best guess.
Calling this “Pizza Italian Style” would almost certainly have Italians turning in their graves. I was quite sceptical before testing it. I had never made pizza dough without yeast before, and the depth of the pie-style crust made me worry the base might end up raw.
Surprisingly, it didn’t. The crust cooked through properly and the end result was perfectly edible.
That said, as someone who grew up in a world where pizza is completely commonplace, it simply doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing. I can easily imagine a New Zealand family in 1979 thinking this was an absolute treat. Today though, it feels less like pizza and more like a curious little savoury pie that shows just how far our idea of “pizza night” has come.
Hi, I'm Samantha Tulett
I’m the cook, writer, and recipe developer behind City Slicker.
In this series, I’m recreating recipes from a quirky little 1979 hospital ward cookbook my grandmother kept from her time as a nurse, discovering whether these retro dishes still deserve a place on the table today.
Would You Try This Today?
Some of these 1979 recipes are surprisingly timeless, while others feel wonderfully of their era. Would you give this one a go in your own kitchen, or would you leave it firmly in the past? I’d love to know what you think.
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