Lamb Stew

As I mentioned, the weather broke yesterday, with rains and temps around 50 by the time I got home in the afternoon. Which made it a perfect first day of starting to cook something from my favorite food group: stew.
Like The Husband remarked as he watched me humming to myself as I was chopping up ingredients in the kitchen: 'you sure seem happiest when you cook from good ingredients...' Well, yes. And given that he took seconds, I think the results were rather decent as well.

Lamb Stew in a Vaguely Mediterranean Style

1-1.5 lbs. lamb stew meat (I am lucky enough to be able to get some grass-fed lamb from the local farmers' market), cubed
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 bag of baby carrots, halved
1 banana pepper or green Hatch chile, seeded, chopped (depending on how hot you like it)
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, chopped
(NOTE: I used organic varieties of all vegetables above; feel free to vary the veggies according to preference)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
1-2 cups of stock or water
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or red chili flakes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon flour

1. Heat oil in heavy pot. Add lamb cubes and brown all around. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add butter to pot; saute onions and garlic until soft. Add lamb back; pour in wine; stir, cover, reduce for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
3. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and carrots. Stir. Add 1-1 tablespoon of the green herbs. Season with salt, pepper and Aleppo pepper or chili flakes.
4. Add 1 cup of stock or water, cover and simmer on medium-low for about 1 hour. Check for doneness and replenish liquid if necessary at 45 minutes. Depending on the meat, it might need more than 1 hour.
5. Mix flour in a cup with some of the liquid from the stew to form a paste and thicken the stew with it for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
6. Add the other half of green herbs just before finishing.

Serve over rice or couscous.