WC2026 Kitchen: Argentina vs Egypt — Asado Koshary with Chimichurri-Harissa
The Round of 16 delivers its heavyweight clash today at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium: Lionel Messi’s Argentina against Mohamed Salah’s Egypt. Two nations that take their football and their food seriously, separated by nearly 8,000 miles but united by a shared belief that the best meals are the ones that fill you for the next three days.
Argentina’s culinary identity revolves around fire — the asado, a slow-grilled feast of beef that’s less a meal and more a national institution. Egypt’s answer is koshary: a towering bowl of rice, lentils, pasta, and chickpeas drowned in tomato sauce and fried onions, the sort of dish that makes you question why any other cuisine needs more than one plate.
Both are carb-and-spice powerhouses. Both are street food elevated to cultural heritage. Fusing them shouldn’t be difficult — it’s just a matter of getting the proportions right.
The Concept
The idea is simple: take the Egyptian koshary format (layered carbs with sauce) and build it around Argentine grilled meat. Instead of koshary’s traditional chickpea-and-lentil base, we layer brown rice, brown lentils, and short pasta — then top it with thin-sliced asado-style beef, chimichurri, and a harissa-tomato sauce that bridges both cuisines. The result is a dish where neither culture dominates: the Egyptian architecture holds the plate together, the Argentine flavours do the talking.
Ingredients
For the koshary base:
– 1 cup brown lentils (rinsed, picked over)
– 1 cup medium-grain rice (rinsed)
– 150g short pasta (macaroni or ditalini)
– 1 can (400g) chickpeas, drained
For the asado beef:
– 500g flank steak or skirt steak, thinly sliced against the grain
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 1 tsp smoked paprika
– 1 tsp ground cumin
– Salt and black pepper
– Juice of 1 lime
For the chimichurri:
– ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
– 2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tbsp dried)
– 2 garlic cloves, minced
– ⅓ cup olive oil
– 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
– ½ tsp red pepper flakes
– Pinch of salt
For the harissa-tomato sauce:
– 2 tbsp harissa paste
– 400g canned crushed tomatoes
– 2 tbsp tomato purée
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp baharat or allspice
– 1 garlic clove, grated
– Salt to taste
For the crispy onions:
– 2 large onions, thinly sliced
– Oil for frying
– Pinch of salt
Method
1. Cook the koshary base. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes (it should be slightly underdone — it’ll finish in the sauce). Remove the pasta with a slotted spoon. Without draining, add the rice to the same water and cook for 15 minutes until tender. In a separate pan, boil the lentils in fresh water for 25 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain all three and set aside.
2. Make the sauces. For the harissa-tomato sauce, combine crushed tomatoes, tomato purée, harissa paste, sugar, baharat, grated garlic, and salt in a saucepan. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until thickened. The sauce should be tangy, slightly sweet, and properly spicy — adjust harissa to taste.
For the chimichurri, simply mix all ingredients together in a bowl. No cooking required. Leave it to sit for at least 30 minutes so the herbs infuse the oil. Chimichurri always tastes better the next day, so make it ahead if you can.
3. Cook the beef. Toss the sliced steak with olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Heat a grill pan or heavy frying pan until smoking hot — this is asado, so you want proper char marks. Cook the beef in batches for 2-3 minutes per side. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Remove and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
4. Fry the onions. Slice the onions into thin rings. Heat oil to 180°C and fry the onion rings in batches until golden and crisp — about 5-7 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and salt immediately. These are the crown of the dish, the Egyptian answer to everything.
5. Assemble. Layer the rice, lentils, and pasta in a serving bowl (or individual bowls if you’re fancy). Top with the grilled beef. Drizzle generously with harissa-tomato sauce. Scatter the crispy fried onions over the top. Finish with a big spoonful of chimichurri alongside the plate.
Why This Works
Argentina and Egypt seem like unlikely fusion partners, but their food cultures share DNA. Both cuisines build around one or two hero ingredients — beef for Argentina, lentils and chickpeas for Egypt — and build entire dishes around them. Both use garlic liberally. Both serve their signature dishes in portions that would concern a nutritionist.
The chimichurri and harissa also complement each other beautifully: the herbaceous, acidic brightness of chimichurri cuts through the richness of the grilled meat, while the smoky, earthy heat of harissa adds a second layer of flavour that keeps every bite interesting. It’s a dish where the two sauces carry the narrative, and the carbs provide the stage.
Messi and Salah will decide their own fate in Atlanta. But if their coaches are wise, they’ll fuel up on something that honours both halves of this matchup.
Sources: BBC Good Food — Argentine cuisine, The Mediterranean Dish — Egyptian Koshary, ESPN — World Cup 2026 Round of 16 schedule
