Collection
Weeknight Winners
Twelve recipes we reach for when the brief is “weeknight winners”.
- Recipes
- 12
- Curated by
- Rafa
- Updated
- September 2026
About this collection
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. Do not skip the celery; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. Olu, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. Tomasz, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Osaka, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. If you can chop dill and hold a microplane, you can make this. We promise.
1. Honeyed Cheddar Rice Bowls
Rafa, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
We tested this 4 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with fennel seed won every single round. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
If you can chop cucumber and hold a fish slice, you can make this. We promise. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are honeyed cheddar rice bowls — the kind you clear your evening for. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
2. Crispy Chickpea Spring Rolls
Kenji, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
Mateo swears by adding the mint in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. Do not skip the cherry tomatoes; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. 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.
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. If you can chop basil and hold a wok that has seen things, you can make this. We promise.
3. Honeyed Aubergine Tostadas
We tested this 4 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with miso paste won every single round.
Bea swears by adding the cucumber in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are honeyed aubergine tostadas — the kind you clear your evening for. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
We tested this 12 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with pomegranate molasses won every single round. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. If you can chop coriander and hold a rolling pin (or a wine bottle), you can make this. We promise.
4. Honeyed Tofu Bao
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this.
Do not skip the cherry tomatoes; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. If you can chop garlic and hold a wide non-stick frying pan, you can make this. We promise.
No aleppo pepper? A mix of nigella seeds and a little eggs gets you most of the way there. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. A spoonful of nigella seeds does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
5. Honeyed Cauliflower Skewers
We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. If you can chop radishes and hold a wire rack, you can make this. We promise. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the short-grain rice hydrates as it rests. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
6. Toasted Lentil Pakoras
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. If you can chop basil and hold a sheet tray lined with parchment, you can make this. We promise. The trick with toasted lentil pakoras is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Mateo, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Tbilisi, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
7. Fiery Chickpea Spring Rolls
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.
Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. 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. Ingrid, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. No harissa? A mix of panko and a little plain flour gets you most of the way there.
8. 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.
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. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. If you can chop cucumber and hold a wide non-stick frying pan, you can make this. We promise.
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. Tomasz, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.
9. Sticky Pumpkin Toasties
The trick with pumpkin toasties is patience: let the pumpkin take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. Yusuf swears by adding the shallots in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Rafa, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 230°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
10. Herby Egg Hash
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.
Mateo, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. Noor swears by adding the shallots in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. A spoonful of mustard seeds does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
A spoonful of star anise does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
11. Roasted Mushroom Quesadillas
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
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. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. 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.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the sea salt hydrates as it rests.
12. Crispy Sweetcorn Dumplings
The trick with sweetcorn dumplings is patience: let the sweetcorn take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 210°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. 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. 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 cornflour hydrates as it rests.
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. 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. A spoonful of star anise does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
How we choose
If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 180°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. No furikake? A mix of chipotle in adobo and a little cornflour gets you most of the way there. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Tomasz swears by adding the red onion in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little ingredients feed a lot of mouths. 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. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen.