As part of my quest to eat my way through an entire truckle of Stilton this month – genuinely, I kid you not – I put together this salad of figs, blue cheese, watercress with a smattering of honey. I came upon the idea of combining rich blue cheese with figs, as a result of a suggestion from the lovely Emilia of Wine and Butter, one of my favourite foodie blogs. And what a great idea it is.

Initially the real challenge was to locate figs amidst snowy London. It seemed that I couldn’t find them for love nor money. So when I spotted some for sale at our local organic supermarket, I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give this intriguing flavour combination a try.

While overjoyed to have located the figs, my expectations as to their flavour – given that they are currently very much out of season in Europe – were nonetheless limited. And so, I decided to lightly roast them with a drizzle of honey, hoping to intensify their delicate flavour. The result was pleasing: dark fleshy figs swimming in sweet honeyed juices. A delicacy in themselves, I kept a couple to one side to enjoy with a dollop of creamy greek yogurt for my breakfast. Each bite was like a little burst of summer.

But I digress – they were also most delicious in the salad. A colourful and light dish which makes for a great starter to any meal. I simply combined the figs – which you could very easily cook in advance – with a mixture of rocket and watercress leaves, before crumbling over an abundance of Stilton and drizzling with balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil. Utterly delightful.

Thanks, Em – that was a great tip! I will definitely be making this dish again. Very soon. Very, very soon.

To make a honey roasted fig and stilton salad…

I made a large salad, enough for 6 people as a starter, and served it on a long thin dish. You could just as easily plate it in individual portions if you prefer. The ingredients below are a rough guide of what I used, but you can play around with the proportions as you like.

• 50g wild rocket
• 50g watercress
• 9 fresh figs
• 4 tbsps honey
• 150g stilton
• drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, to dress the salad

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the figs in half and place them on a baking tray, flesh side up. Drizzle with the honey and the place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they have darkened in colour and swelled a little in size. When you are ready to serve the salad, simply scatter the green leaves on a plate, place the figs on top, then top liberally with crumbled stilton. Finally drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Utterly, utterly delightful.