My Goals and Discoveries
Succulent meat
Rather than try to cook the short ribs and the rice at the same rate—an impossible challenge—we remove the beef when it is tender, cut it into small pieces, and add it back during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Perfectly cooked rice
We cover the saucepan tightly with aluminum foil so that every bit of the flavorful cooking liquid is retained during the braising step and then absorbed into the rice on the stovetop.
Tender—not mushy—carrots
Grating the largest carrot and adding it at the beginning of cooking flavors the cooking liquid. Cutting the remaining carrots into chunks and adding them later ensures that they cook up tender but remain intact.
Bright flavor
Traditional dried barberries give the pilaf bracing pops of acidity.