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Jamie Oliver's Superb Pork Fillet Roasted on Rhubarb

© Pat Churchill

One of my work colleagues enjoys pottering in the kitchen and sometimes takes a lunchtime stroll to pick up the meat for the evening meal. He usually asks me to remind him to collect it from the fridge before he leaves work. I often ask what he's bought and I noted recently he'd been buying quite a few pork fillets.

Seems he's taken a shine to a Jamie Oliver recipe that was run recently in our newspaper, and which feature's in Oliver's latest book, Happy Days with the Naked Chef. It's called Superb Marinated Pork Fillet Roasted on Rhubarb. The family gave me this book for my birthday so I decided to try it for myself last weekend.

Oliver says this dish always surprises people when he serves it to them.

"The pork fillet doesn't take long to cook, and by roasting it on the rhubarb you'll get fantastic flavours and a superb juice. An excellent accompaniment to the rich meat, just like apple sauce."

My colleague leaves out the rhubarb because he's not a rhubarb fan. I used it, but I think mine could have benefited from a sprinkling of sugar or a good grind of salt. One thing interesting about rhubarb when you're cooking it - if you add a little salt to the pan, you won't need as much sugar. The salt serves to level out some of the tartness.

I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver's food. It's maximum flavour for little effort and I've never been disappointed with any of the dishes I've tried.

One of my son Ben's friends Hayley works at Monte's - http://www.montes.co.uk - in London with Oliver and she featured in one of his recent episodes and in his new book. She makes luscious cakes and Ben was pretty chuffed when she baked him a special birthday cake last year - something that would sell at Monte's for several pounds a slice.

Back to the recipe.

Superb Marinated Pork Fillet Roasted on Rhubarb

1 large handful of fresh sage
2 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
2 pork fillets, trimmed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 slices of prosciutto or Parma ham
12 long sticks of baby rhubarb, washed

First bash up half your sage with a pestle and mortar or use a metal bowl with a rolling pin. Add your garlic and smash. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil, then rub the mixture all over your pork fillets and allow to marinate for an hour if possible.