Hearty Beef Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 onions, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (or 1 t. dried)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus extra as needed
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup soy sauce (I would use low sodium)
2 bay leaves
1 (4 lb) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
salt
pepper
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 lb carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced 1-inch thick
2 cups frozen peas

Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over med-high heat until shimmering.
Add onions, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme; cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps; transfer to slow cooker.
Stir in beef broth, soy sauce, and bay leaves.
Season beef with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.
Toss potatoes and carrots with remaining tablespoon oil, season with salt and pepper, and wrap in foil packet.
Lay foil packet on top of stew.
Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9-11 hours on LOW or 5-7 hours on HIGH.
Transfer foil packet to plate; let stew settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat using large spoon; discard bay leaves.
Carefully open foil packet, and stir vegetables with any accumulated juices into stew.
Stir in peas and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes (adjust stew consistency with additional hot broth as needed).
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.