Blackberry, fig & melon compote

Put the wine, lemon zest, thyme and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve.

Remove the tips from the figs and halve or quarter them. If they’re very ripe, you don’t need to cook them. If not, put them in the wine syrup and poach gently for 2-3 minutes, or until just soft. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a plate to lie separately (otherwise the figs keep on cooking and get too soft).

Whether you’ve cooked the figs or not, reduce the sugar syrup by boiling for 2 minutes. It will get more syrupy as it cools. Add the lemon juice to taste.

Cut the melon into slices, then remove the seeds and skin and chop the flesh into chunks. Put the flesh into a broad shallow bowl. Remove the thyme and lemon from the syrup. Add the figs and blackberries to the bowl and pour over the syrup. Add some fresh sprigs of lemon thyme, or regular thyme, then serve.