A Sephardic family heirloom, Passover bimuelos are a fried pancake with matzo, eggs and Parmesan cheese dipped in a sweet simple syrup.
Sephardic Bimuelos for Passover
A childhood favorite of mine that doesn’t have many hits on Google search. I was pleasantly surprised when I did a quick online inquiry of“bimuelos” and noticed that everything I found was not nearly as close to the indulgent treat I grew up with as a kid.
My moms side is Sephardic with ancestry coming from Turkey and Spain. There are a lot of foods that I grew up on that have some interesting variations and blends of both, such as Turkish fasulye or Turkish zucchini pie
Serve Bimuelos with Simple Syrup
These bimuelos (I've always seen them spelled bunuelos) are special, special for Passover and special to my heart. They are with fewer ingredients than you can count on your hand and that is all you need. I would make the matzo mixture with my mom when I was little and could not wait for the sugar water to condense so I can dunk these matzo doughnuts in the sweet syrup.
Even better (or worse), hours after making them, we would run to the kitchen in the wee hours of the night and scavenge through the fridge attacking the cold fried treats. And believe me; they are even better cold…and in the middle of the night.
Bimuelos have a soft center with a delicate outside crunch. Think of them as a matzo brei fritter if you will. They are perfect for soaking up all the syrupy goodness. A healthy sprinkle of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano offers a Sephardic twist as well as the perfect pairing for sweet…salty!
More Passover Favorites
Passover Bimuelos
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
Bimuelo Mixture
- 5-6 Matzo about half the box, roughly broken up
- 4 eggs whisked
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 vanilla bean split down the middle
Instructions
- Begin by making the simple syrup and add sugar, water and vanilla bean to a small pot.
- Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until it thickens slightly and turns into a light amber color syrup, about 15 minutes.
- Once done, remove vanilla bean and discard and remove syrup from heat and let cool while you make the bimuelos.
- For the bimuelos, break up the matzo into small pieces and soak in a large bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large deep skillet with about ¼ in of oil over medium heat.
- Once the matzo is soaked, squeeze all the water out with your hands very well and add the whisked eggs, salt and pepper and give everything a good mix.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons worth of mixture and carefully drop in hot oil. The bimuelos should immediately sizzle if it's hot enough. (You can also test this with a small piece of batter beforehand).
- Fry bimuelos in oil until first side is lightly golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook other side for another 2-3 minutes until both sides are golden brown.
- Once bimuelos are done frying, drain on reserved paper-towel lined plates and immediately grate Parmigiano Reggiano cheese while still hot.
- Serve bimuelos alongside simple syrup to dip into.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in March, 2012 and updated in March 2021 with added nutritional information and clearer instructions.
melanie says
I am Sephardic too, but my mom didn't cook much. Love the spinach pie and made for sedar last year and everyone loved it! Gave everyone the recipe...
Samantha says
Thank you so much for sharing, Melanie!!