- 1.
Heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Peel and finely chop the onion. Trim and finely chop the carrot and celery. Peel and crush the garlic clove.
- 2.
Heat a large pan over a medium heat for 2 mins. Add ½ tbsp oil and all the prepared veg. Cook on a low heat for 5 mins, stirring, till just softened.
- 3.
Tip in the risotto rice. Cook and stir for 3 mins. Slice the figs and add those with the thyme springs. Crumble in the stock cube and pour in 800ml boiling water.
- 4.
Pop on a lid. If your pan isn’t ovenproof, pour the risotto into an ovenproof dish and cover with a lid or foil. Slide into the oven and cook for 40 mins till the stock is absorbed and the rice is al dente (soft with a slight bite).
- 5.
While the risotto is cooking, finely chop the watercress, saving a handful to garnish. Zest and juice the lemon. Crumble the Perl Las cheese.
- 6.
When the risotto is cooked, remove from the oven. Stir through most of the Perl Las and all the chopped watercress. Add the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and season. Add more lemon juice if you think it's necessary.
- 7.
Serve the risotto in warm bowls with a tangle of the remaining watercress and a crumble of the remaining blue cheese.