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Arancini

Cold risotto (saffron Milanese-style is traditional in arancini "alla Milanese"; plain works too) is mixed with grated parmesan and beaten egg to bind. Filling, a stew of beef-and-pork ragù with peas, OR a cube of mozzarella, sits in the centre of each ball. Hands wet with water shape the rice around the filling into a tight orange-sized ball (or cone, for the Catania style). Each ball is rolled first in flour, then in beaten egg, then in fine breadcrumbs (or in the doubled-up "panata" mix of flour + water for the Sicilian original). Deep-fried at 180°C in 4-5 cm of oil for 4-6 minutes per ball until deep gold. Drained on kitchen paper; eaten warm.

Snacks 45 minutes Serves4

Aroog

Fine bulgur (#1 grade) soaks in hot water until soft and fluffy. Lamb or beef mince mixes with the bulgur, grated onion, lots of chopped parsley and coriander, ground baharat, cumin and a pinch of cinnamon. The mixture should be soft enough to spread, if it's too dry the aroog crumble. Small portions press onto a hot oiled pan and flatten to 1 cm thick discs; cook for 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat until deeply browned and the meat is just cooked through. Lift, drain briefly, eat hot with lemon and yoghurt.

Snacks 1 hour 20 minutes Serves4

Baked Börek with Khandrajo Filling

Börek are Turkish pastry packages filled with various ingredients: meat, cheese, or vegetables. This vegetarian version uses khandrajo, a concentrated eggplant ragù heavily reduced until jammy and concentrated. Traditional börek-making uses thin, hand-rolled dough (yufka), but modern versions use readily available filo pastry. The key to success is preparing the khandrajo well ahead; it must be completely cool before filling (otherwise it creates soggy börek). The eggplant roasts down to deep mahogany richness through high-heat cooking, creating a sweet-savory filling. Baked börek develop shatteringly crisp exteriors through careful pastry handling and high-temperature baking.

Snacks 1 hour 55 minutes Serves20

Boudin Balls

Boudin filling combines pork shoulder, pork liver (optional, traditional), cooked rice, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, green onion, cayenne, salt, pepper. Either bought ready-made boudin (casings removed) or made from scratch by simmering then mincing pork shoulder with the aromatics. Filling rolls into walnut-sized balls; chills for 30 min so they hold shape. Dredges in flour, egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs. Deep-fries for 3-4 minutes at 175°C.

Snacks 1 hour 7 minutes Serves16

Bourek Tunisien

Potato is boiled, peeled and mashed. Mixed with drained tuna, harissa, capers, parsley, salt and pepper. A warka or filo sheet is laid flat; a line of filling is spooned across one edge; a small well is pressed into the filling; a whole raw egg is cracked into the well; the sheet is folded and rolled into a cigar. Fried seam-down immediately in moderately hot oil, the egg cooks inside as the pastry turns crisp. Eaten hot with lemon and harissa.

Snacks 45 minutes Serves8

Briouat Bil Lahm (Meat Briouats)

Onion is softened slowly in olive oil 15 minutes. Lamb mince browns with the onion; ras-el-hanout, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper season. Stock or a splash of water; simmered for 8-10 minutes till dry-fragrant. Off heat: parsley, coriander, beaten egg, finely chopped preserved lemon. Left to cool. Warka strips lay flat; a teaspoon of filling at one end; flag-folded up the strip into a triangle. Sealed with egg-wash. Deep-fried for 3 minutes till deep gold.

Snacks 55 minutes Serves18

Chả Giò

A pork and prawn filling is bound with shredded carrot, glass noodles and reconstituted wood-ear mushrooms, then rolled tightly in moistened rice paper and fried twice for maximum crunch. The double-fry technique gives chả giò their characteristic bubbled, blistered crust. Served with cool lettuce leaves, herbs and a punchy nước chấm dipping sauce.

Snacks 1 hour 5 minutes Serves20

Coco Bread

An enriched yeast dough made with coconut milk, butter, sugar and a little salt. Risen once, divided, rolled into rounds, brushed with butter and folded in half so the baked roll opens like a clamshell. Baked at moderate heat until lightly golden and soft. The folded shape is purposeful: it tears cleanly into two leaves, ideal for stuffing with a beef patty or jerk pork.

Snacks 2 hours 15 minutes Serves8

Cornish Pasty

Shortcrust pastry uses a mix of lard and butter for the right sturdy-but-flaky texture; chilled, rested for 30 minutes, rolled to 4 mm thick, and cut into 22 cm discs (a small plate works as a guide). Filling: beef skirt (cut into 5 mm cubes, never minced), potato (5 mm dice), swede (5 mm dice) and onion (5 mm dice), seasoned generously with salt and pepper. The filling is piled on half of each pastry disc, leaving a 1 cm border. The pastry is folded over; edges are crimped firmly with thumb-and-forefinger pressed-and-twisted rope crimps along the curved edge. Egg-washed; baked at 200°C for 15 min, then 180°C for 35-40 min until deep golden.

Snacks 2 hours 5 minutes Serves4

Crawfish Pie (Mini)

Sweet shortcrust pastry chills for 30 min. Filling: butter + flour make a blonde roux; trinity (onion + celery + green pepper) softens; crawfish tails + cream + tomato paste + Cajun seasoning + green onion finishes. Cool. Roll pastry; cut 10 cm rounds; spoon 1 tbsp filling on half; fold and crimp; brush with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes at 200°C till deep gold.

Snacks 1 hour 45 minutes Serves12

Crawfish Pies

A Louisiana hand pie, the Cajun answer to a Cornish pasty and the snack you'd buy at a Lafayette festival booth alongside a beer. You make a flaky shortcrust enriched with a little butter and lard (or all butter if you'd rather), cold and rested. The filling is a small batch of crawfish étouffée: a blond roux first, then the trinity of onion, celery and bell pepper, garlic, tomato, Cajun spice, stock and crawfish tails, simmered down until thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Cool the filling completely so it can be spooned into pastry circles, folded into half-moons, crimped sharp at the edge, brushed with egg wash and either deep-fried or baked. The fried version is the classic, with the pastry blistered amber-gold and the filling steaming inside. Eaten warm from the paper with a dab of remoulade and a cold drink.

Snacks 1 hour 45 minutes Serves12

Croquetas

A thick bechamel cooks with finely diced ham or cooked chicken until it pulls away from the pan in a glossy mass. Chilled overnight (or at minimum 4 hours) until firm enough to shape into small cylinders. Each croqueta is breaded twice for a crisp shell that holds the soft, almost-pourable filling inside. Shallow-fried, not deep-fried, at moderate heat.

Snacks 4 hours 45 minutes Serves4-6

Empanadas Cubanas

A simple yellow dough (flour, lard or butter, water, salt, annatto or paprika for colour) rests cold while a picadillo-style ground beef filling cooks: sofrito, beef, tomato, olives, raisins, capers, cumin. Filling and dough chill separately. Rounds get filled, sealed with a crimped edge, and deep-fried until golden, blistered and hollow-sounding. Hot is best.

Snacks 1 hour 35 minutes Serves4-6

Empanadas de Queso

Chile's cheese empanadas, the parties-and-snacks half-moon that's the lighter, quicker cousin of empanadas de pino. You knead a dough of flour, salt, butter, warm milk and an egg to a smooth pliable ball and rest it for thirty minutes. The filling is simplicity itself: cubes of queso fresco or mozzarella about a centimetre across, with a sprinkle of oregano. Divide the dough, roll each ball to a ten-centimetre disc, place a cube of cheese in the centre, fold into a half-moon, crimp the edges with a fork. Deep-fry in moderately hot oil for three minutes per side until deep gold. Drain briefly, eat hot before the cheese sets - the stretchy bite is half the pleasure.

Snacks 1 hour 35 minutes Serves16

Fatayer Jibneh

A soft yeasted olive-oil dough rises for 45 minutes. Filling: grated akkawi (desalted first if very salty) or a mix of low-moisture mozzarella + halloumi (rinsed to reduce salt), crumbled feta, chopped parsley, mint, dried mint, black pepper and a touch of nigella seed. Dough divides into 16 balls; each rolls into a 10 cm disc. A heaped tablespoon of cheese mix sits in the centre. Folded into a tricorn: three sides of the disc fold up over the filling, pinched at the top in three seams. Brushed with olive oil. Baked at 220°C for 15-18 minutes until deep gold.

Snacks 1 hour 43 minutes Serves4

Feteer Meshaltet

A soft elastic dough rests; divides into 2 balls. Each ball stretches paper-thin on a heavily-oiled / ghee-buttered surface (similar to msemen or yufka, translucent dough). Layered with melted ghee between folds: stretch → ghee → fold into thirds → quarter-turn → stretch → ghee → fold. Repeated 3 times per ball. The two folded packets place stacked on top of each other in a buttered round dish (about 24 cm). Baked at 220°C 25-30 minutes until amber, golden, and the layers have separated dramatically. Served warm with honey, soft cheese, or molasses-and-tahini (the Egyptian classic dip).

Snacks 1 hour 45 minutes Serves4

Fish Roll

Dough: flour, butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, egg, milk, mixes to a smooth firm dough. Rests for 30 min. Filling: tinned sardines mash with sautéed onion, chilli, curry powder, thyme, salt. Dough divides; each portion rolls to a 12 cm circle; filling pipes or spoons in a line down the centre; dough rolls around the filling into a cigar; ends pinch sealed. Deep-fries for 5 minutes at 170°C till deep gold.

Snacks 1 hour 25 minutes Serves12

Fried Börek with Meat Filling

Fried börek are Turkish-influenced pastries that combine simple pastry (made from water, oil, and flour) with a seasoned ground meat filling. The meat is cooked in aromatics, bound together with egg, and enriched with fresh parsley. The pastry is thin and tender, becoming shatteringly crisp when deep-fried. The key to success is ensuring the filling is completely cold before assembling (otherwise it creates soggy pastry), rolling the pastry thin (for crispness rather than doughiness), and maintaining proper oil temperature during frying. These are best consumed immediately, while still warm and crispy.

Snacks 1 hour 35 minutes Serves30

Frikadellen

A bread roll soaks in milk, squeezes out and mixes with minced pork and beef, finely chopped onion sweated soft, an egg, mustard, marjoram and plenty of pepper. Shaped into flat patties (frikadellen are flat, not round like meatballs) and pan-fried in butter. The bread keeps them tender; the flat shape gives more crust.

Snacks 35 minutes Serves4

Gefilte Fish

A mix of white-fleshed fish (carp, pike, whitefish, or a more modern blend of cod and haddock) is ground with grated onion, eggs, matzo meal and a little sugar, then formed into quenelles. The quenelles poach gently in a broth made from the fish skin, heads and bones with onion and carrot. After an hour they are lifted out and chilled overnight in the strained broth; some of the broth jellies as it cools, which is the point. Served cold, on a leaf of lettuce, with a generous spoon of horseradish.

Snacks 5 hours 45 minutes Serves8

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