Collection
Brunch Bits
Twelve recipes we reach for when the brief is “brunch bits”.
- Recipes
- 12
- Curated by
- Rafa
- Updated
- November 2026
About this collection
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are brunch bits — the kind you clear your evening for. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. The trick with brunch bits is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. If you can chop shallots and hold a microplane, you can make this. We promise. Do not skip the dill; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
1. Honeyed Aubergine Tostadas
We tested this 4 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with miso paste won every single round.
If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 200°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. A spoonful of coconut cream does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. A spoonful of gochujang does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
2. Toasted Sweet Potato Tacos
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Naples, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
The trick with toasted sweet potato tacos is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.
Do not skip the dill; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Lisbon, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
3. Toasted Salmon Croquettes
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
The trick with toasted salmon croquettes is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
4. Charred Leek Hand Pies
The charred edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
No tamarind? A mix of tahini and a little soy sauce gets you most of the way there. A spoonful of coconut cream does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the baking powder hydrates as it rests. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Lisbon, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
5. Smoky Sweet Potato Tacos
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Hanoi, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
If you can chop mint and hold a wok that has seen things, you can make this. We promise. Clara swears by adding the flat-leaf parsley in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the Greek yoghurt hydrates as it rests.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the neutral oil hydrates as it rests. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
6. Fiery Beef Arancini
The trick with beef arancini is patience: let the beef take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are fiery beef arancini — the kind you clear your evening for. No dried lime? A mix of ghee and a little honey gets you most of the way there.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. Do not skip the fennel; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
7. Sticky Potato Flatbreads
The trick with potato flatbreads is patience: let the potato take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 190°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
The trick with sticky potato flatbreads is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
8. Garlicky Pork Empanadas
We tested this 11 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with panko won every single round.
Tomasz swears by adding the flat-leaf parsley in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
A spoonful of furikake does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. If you can chop mint and hold a wide non-stick frying pan, you can make this. We promise. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 190°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
9. Herby Tomato Fritters
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
Do not skip the chives; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
10. Roasted Egg Hash
We tested this 12 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with rice vinegar won every single round.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.
If you can chop celery and hold a sheet tray lined with parchment, you can make this. We promise. A spoonful of harissa does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
11. Crispy Chicken Noodles
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Mumbai, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the eggs hydrates as it rests. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Do not skip the cherry tomatoes; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy.
A spoonful of rice vinegar does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the chicken stock hydrates as it rests.
12. Brown-Butter Tomato Fritters
The trick with tomato fritters is patience: let the tomato take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Mei, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. If you can chop shallots and hold a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), you can make this. We promise.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
How we choose
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.
In Marrakesh, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. The sumac is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on miso paste for the same savoury backbone. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the short-grain rice hydrates as it rests. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through.