FIFA World Cup 2026 – Spain – Champions! – A Spanish-Mexican Fusion Menu

The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup has come to an end, with the big final match taking place on Sunday, July 19, with the victory 1-0 in extra time of Spain over Argentina. While following Mexico’s matches, I decided to find a traditional dish from the opposing country that seemed similar to a Mexican dish, as a way to point out that we are all just people, and maybe we could achieve peace in our small world. As a homage to the winning team, I am reposting a fusion Spanish-Mexican I shared a couple of years ago, inspired by a memorable meal at Mercat a la Planxa (638 South Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois, USA), a contemporary Spanish cuisine restaurant in Chicago. Although Mexico did not play against Spain in this tournament, this seemed to fit with all my previous posts during the World Cup, comparing international dishes to Mexican ones, so here it is:

Originally published on June 28, 2024:

… I could not help but find many similarities between the food at this Spanish restaurant and some Mexican dishes; this should not come as a surprise, considering that the Spanish Colonial era in Mexico lasted three hundred years. Back at home, inspired by this meal, I created a similar menu, but with elements from contemporary and traditional Mexican recipes:

The appetizer at the restaurant was Fried Calamari with Preserved Lemon Aioli; breaded squid rings and peppers are fried then tossed together, and served with lemon slices and the sauce on the side (photo below, left). The breading and fried peppers reminded me of Sonora style fried chicken, served with fried jalapeños, so I used a recipe for the chicken coating with squid rings instead, I fried some jalapeños, and used lime juice instead of preserved lemon in the sauce (photo below, right):

I chose their Libritos de Puerco Rellenos, a bone-in pork chop stuffed with serrano ham, manchego cheese, and served with piquillo pepper, and mojo negra sauce (photo below, left). I have shared a recipe for pork chops also stuffed with ham and cheese, but served on a bed of sautéed spinach and caramelized onions (photo below, right):

My husband picked the Cordero – lamb with mint salsa verde; there were also an unidentified redish sauce, and some drops of mashed vegetable, probably turnips (photo below, left). I decided to make a straightforward adaptation with some spearmint from my garden, and a Mexican tomatillo green sauce. As for the redish sauce, there is a Spanish sauce called mojo picón, based on dry hot peppers, so I made that using Mexican chile de árbol; the veggie drops on my plate are simply mashed potato (photo below, right):

One side was the classic Patatas Bravas, spicy potatoes (photo below, left). “Spicy potatoes” immediately made me think of papas zamoranas, a street food treat from the Mexican state of Michoacán, in which the potatoes are dressed with three different preparations, namely, salsa negra (blackened dry chile salt), salsa de aceite (chile oil) and salsa de pepino, a spicy cucumber sauce (photo below, right):

The second side was Zanahorias a la Cidra, heirloom roasted carrots, with apple cider reduction and cleverly using the carrot tops in a chimichurri sauce (photo below, left). My recipe is basically the same, except I could not find heirloom carrots, so I used regular organic carrots; since there were no leafy carrot tops, I used parsley and oregano (from my garden) for a traditional chimichurri (photo below, right):