Jamie’s cooking philosophy is quite simple: as long as you have the right ingredients, you can’t go far wrong. His latest venture is to take his passion for Italy and turn it into a range of perfectly prepared pesto and pasta sauces, made in Italy to Jamie’s own recipes, using the very best locally sourced ingredients.

Pasta creates exciting meals for every day of the week. Even with the busiest of schedules, everyone can use a jar of pesto or a pasta sauce to make a fantastic supper in the same time that it takes to boil a pot of pasta (use the biggest pan you’ve got, by the way, to stop the pasta sticking and burning).

The Italians know how to do ‘simple’ very well and Jamie Oliver knows how to put ingredients together to create some cracking, straight forward sauces. The taste and texture comes from big hits of chilli, substantial bites of olive and large chunks of ingredients to give a real depth of flavour – just like it would taste if you made it at home.

The pesto range offers up mouth-watering combinations including the original basil variety known as Green Pesto and one replacing the classic basil with super tasty Mediterranean sun-dried tomatoes - so it’s called Red Pesto! Then there’s Rocket, Lemon & Parmesan; Coriander & Cashew; Chilli & Garlic; Italian Herb; and Walnut & Red Pepper. A 190g jar at a credit-crunching £2.49 feeds four people (at least).

The pasta sauce range, lovingly prepared and slowly simmered to extract maximum flavour, includes: Red Onion & Rosemary; Aubergine & Olive; Spicy Olive, Garlic & Tomato; Tomato & Basil; and Tomato & Chilli. The flavours are really fresh and the sauces are easy to use. Simply swirl into pasta. A 350g jar at £1.79 feeds at least four grown-ups. You just want the sauce to coat the pasta, not drown it.

Jamie’s attitude to pasta is that of a diehard Italian-o-phile. “Who couldn’t love it? It’s a one plate wonder where everyone gathers round the kitchen table and gets stuck in. The flavours are bold and beautiful with some rugged textures to get the taste buds begging for more.”

The Jamie Oliver range of pesto and pasta sauces are available from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Co-Op, Somerfield and Booths.

For more information on the range, for recipes and for other news and views visit http://www.jamieoliverproducts.com