Classic Beef Stew with Carrots and Potatoes

Plenty of beef stews go wrong in the same two places: the meat is steamed instead of seared, and the vegetables cook for three hours until they fall apart. Fix both and you have a stew worth repeating. Sear in a crowded pan and you get gray meat, so work in batches and leave space between the cubes. Then hold the carrots and potatoes back until the last hour. A spoon of Worcestershire at the end wakes up the gravy without anyone guessing why.