How do you start your stew?

When it comes to cooking, I always find cooking stew simple to do. You would just put in the aromatics such as the onion and the tomatoes first. Next is dropping the meat into the pot (we usually utilize fish)  after boiling. And after another boil the vegetables would go in. Finally, after a quick boil then you can salt according to your preference. And there you already have a dish!

How do you start your stews? Mine would be halving the onion and the tomatoes and let it simmer until it becomes soft. I disentangle the onions and squish and mash the tomatoes just so the nutrients would seep into the soup. Did you know that you can only extract lycopene in tomatoes when you boil it? Eating it raw won't.