Snack Your Way to Happiness

Europe

Denmark

Smorrebrod are popular open-faced sandwiches. Buttered rye bread is topped with a variety of ingredients like cheese, fish, vegetables, and meats. Among the more traditional toppings are pickled herring, roast beef, prawn, or avocado.

Scotland

Scotch pies are small, round deep-dish pies filled with minced lamb.

France

Tarte flambee is prepared with bread dough that is topped with fromage blanc, crème fraiche, smoked bacon, and onions. It is seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and baked.

Vol-au-vent are prepared with round, puff pastries that are baked and then the center part is removed. They are filled with minced chicken, breadcrumbs, and mushrooms in a Madeira sauce.

Hungary

Langos is prepared by deep-frying dough made with water, flour, yeast, salt, and sugar until the dough is golden brown. The dough is then eaten plain or topped with grated cheese, or garlic sauce, or sour cream.

Poland

Zapiekanka is a delicious snack. A white baguette is cut lengthwise and topped with a variety of ingredients like sausage, bacon, mushrooms, and olives. These are topped with grated semi-hard cheese and grilled under a broiler.

Turkey

Gozleme is an Anatolian flatbread made with unleavened dough. It can be filled with a variety of ingredients like cheese, spinach, potato, eggplant, meat, or an herb filling.

Borek is a snack that consists of paper-thin phyllo dough wrapped around fillings like cheese, spinach, minced meat, or potatoes. These can be baked, fried, or boiled.

Greece

Spanakopita is a traditional savory pie. The dough is prepared with flour, water, salt, and sometimes vinegar. The fillings consists of spinach, feta, and eggs. It can include onions, dill, parsley, spring onions, lemon, and various herbs. The pie is formed and baked.

Italy

Crostini are prepared with small pieces of toasted or grilled bread topped with a variety of toppings. Toppings can include olive oil, garlic, cheese, olives, spinach, and tomatoes.

Asia

China

Guotie belongs to a group of Chinese jiaozi dumplings which are also known as pot stickers. The dough is made from flour, salt, and warm water then left to rest. The filling is made with minced pork, minced cabbage, sesame oil, shrimp, ginger, scallions, peanut oil, soy sauce, and rice wine. Once mixed the dough wrappers are wrapped around the filling. The bottom of the dumplings are seared and then the dumplings are steamed until done.

Indonesia

Pempek are Indonesian fish cakes originating in Palembang, South Sumatra. They are prepared with a blend of fish like mackerel which is ground into a paste. Then mixed with sago flour, egg, salt, and sugar. Once the pempek are shaped they are boiled until they float meaning they’re cooked. Then they’re deep-fried giving them a crispy texture.

Israel

Falafel is prepared with chickpeas, parsley, coriander, cumin, and onions mixed into a paste. Then small balls as formed and deep-fried until golden and crisp.

Yemen

Martabak consists of thin, flatbread dough stuffed with ground meat, eggs, garlic, onions, peppers, curry, and ghee. They are formed like pancakes and fried.

Japan

Yakisoba pan are prepared with fried yakisoba noodles blended with a variety of vegetables and doused in a thick sauce. They are placed in plain bread rolls and topped with mayonnaise, pickled ginger, and strips of dry seaweed.

North America

Canada

Quebec

Poutine is prepared with potatoes that are cut into coarse fries and fried twice for extra crispness. The fries are then covered with a thick brown gravy consisting of chicken or beef bouillon with some vinegar. Then topped with clumps of pale, soft, semi-creamy cheese curds.

Mexico

Nachos originated in Mexico and have become a popular snack worldwide. Tortilla chips are placed on a platter and covered with a variety of ingredients. These can include meat, beans, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno peppers. Then topped with grated cheese and placed under a broiler until the cheese has melted.

South America

Brazil

Coxinha are popular small deep-fried croquettes. They’re prepared with minced chicken and cheese wrapped around the dough and made to look like chicken drumsticks then deep-fried.

Venezuela

Tequenos are a popular snack or appetizer. A strip of queso blanco (firm, salty white cheese) is wrapped in a thin strip of dough. Then the cheese sticks are deep-fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside with warm, melted cheese inside.

Chile

Completo Italiano is a traditional hot dog that is placed between bread and topped with mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes, and mayonnaise. This can all be topped off with mustard, ketchup, or green chili sauce.