Feeling touristy? Feeling the urge to travel, but also the corresponding angst of arranging it all, then entering the rabbit hole of human transit? Completely understood here. Consequently, “Dining Out” may have a suggestion that removes the ordeal of getting there from transporting your taste buds to Italy and France. Instead of the rigors of continent-hopping travel, take a trip to Sacred Beast in our fair city’s OTR. In less time than it takes you to reach a TSA queue at CVG, you can be seated and scanning a menu at Jeromy Lieb’s Sacred Beast eatery.
And what will you find among your dining options? One specialty now being served is an American take on Sicilian arancini (or as Italians would say, arancini Siciliani), which are rice balls, filled in the center with ragu, the balls then coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Sicilians have been making these savory balls since the tenth century CE, when Arabs ruled the island. Probably, arancini is a cousin of Levantine kibbeh, which predates the rice ball, and shares some of its preparation characteristics. Arabs of the ancient Middle East made kibbeh from bulgar wheat and meat, pounded into a paste, formed into balls and deep fried. So, similar to arancini.
Back to Sacred Beast and your traveling taste buds, where the kitchen is turning out kosher-style rice balls with no meat but plenty of rich flavor, according to the chef. This new dish starts with arborio rice made into an Italian risotto. The risotto is made with water instead of chicken stock, but the rice is flavored during the cooking process with black truffles, onion, and parmesan cheese. When the rice reaches the desired creaminess, it is chilled, scooped to size, then rolled into a ball shape. The balls are dropped into an egg wash, coated in Panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried to a golden brown. The rice balls are plated in a bed of marinara sauce, crested with shreds of parmesan cheese, and finished with a dab of white truffle oil applied to each ball. If you’ve never had arancini, I’m betting you’ll be surprised at the flavor packed into this Sicilian specialty food.
Next, it’s on to Paris, where French gnocchi meets the flavors of autumn in the US Midwest. Instead of potatoes as a base, Parisian gnocchi is made from a classic French pâte à choux. Pâte à choux is a flour-based pastry dough used in making delicacies such as Bavarian creampuffs and chocolate éclairs. The special dough combines flour, boiling water, and butter, and eggs are beaten into the mixture to finish with a very sticky paste-like product. When baked, the dough produces pastry that is filled with large air pockets, allowing the pastry to be filled with pastry cream or custard, such as one would find in a creampuff or éclair.
Sacred Beast uses the pâte à choux dough for its gnocchi, but then the fun starts. Chef says he starts with a small dice of butternut squash, roasted. Charred onions, sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary are combined with the squash, and the whole combo then is tossed in house-made carrot butter. Carrot butter? Cooked carrots are reduced to a puree, into which butter, garlic, and spices are added. At the end of these combinations and coatings is a rich, savory, earthy vegetarian dish that patrons are raving about, according to Sacred Beast staff. “It’s comfort food,” said one of the servers.
The next item you may wish to consider is rooted neither in Italy nor France, but in the creativity of the Sacred Beast kitchen — a duck-breast salad. The salad features several ordinary items made extraordinary by how they are prepared. As salads do, this one starts with a bed of mixed greens. That’s the normal part. Cranberries are added, but the cranberries are poached beforehand, to change and enhance the flavor profile. Roasted pepitas, aka pumpkin seeds, are added also, along with croutons made of marbled rye bread. Ordinary made extraordinary. As for the duck breast, it is seared, sliced, and glazed with lavender honey, then broiled a bit. Meanwhile, dressing is made in the form of a duck fat vinaigrette. Once dressed, the slices of duck are spread across the salad and served.
See you at Sacred Beast!
