Lamb with Rosemary and Port

I love the sort of dinner that you cook without any special effort but without sacrificing gratification. That’s the thing really: cooking is simple; you can choose to complicate it, but there’s no need to. Even when you’re at a low ebb, this is a manageable supper and just what’s needed to pull you out of a slump. It’s comfortingly retro, too: I think it’s the generous amount of – well – gravy that the juices and the deglazing-action make. a steamed baby potato or two to help mop it up would be good, but I’m happy with canned, drained cannellini or flageolet beans, warmed with some garlic oil and a little water and salt on the stove, or a pile of orzo, that rice-shaped pasta (though barley is what they should resemble) most often used in soups and, stateside, in salads. But a good hunk of poised-to-dunk bread and some quick-to-cook green beans would provide a well-pitched accompaniment, too.