Beetroot and fig filo pastry tartlets with Oxford blue cheese

For the figs, place all the ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil. Gently simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the mixture through a sieve or colander, reserving the liquid in a small pan and the figs separately

Place the liquid back on the heat, bring to the boil and reduce to a thick syrup. Chop the figs finely and discard the flavourings

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

Layer one sheet of the filo pastry out on a clean work surface, brush all over with melted butter, then repeat five more times. Cut the filo pastry into four 5cm x 15cm rectangles and place on a baking tray

Bake for 6–8 minutes until the filo pastry is golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to cool

For the beetroot, cook in a large pan of lightly salted water until tender (this may take 30 minutes or so, depending on the size of the beetroot), then allow to cool slightly. While still warm, peel the beetroot and cut into 3mm slices, then use a pastry cutter to trim each slice into a 5cm circle

Divide the Oxford Blue cheese into four portions (50g each), removing any outer skin with a sharp knife

In a frying pan, heat a shallow layer of rapeseed oil and quickly fry the lemon thyme sprigs until fragrant, drain any excess oil on kitchen paper

To serve, cover each filo base with a layer of the chopped figs, then cover with overlapping beetroot discs. Brush these with the reduced fig cooking syrup. Crumble over each portion of the cheese, drizzle with a little rapeseed oil, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a sprig of the fried lemon thyme