Veneto style risotto

Here's a recipe for a risotto that tastes like Veneto and that you pretty likely have the ingredients for already. Good and simple.

Ingredients (x2):
200 g risotto rice
a tablespoon butter or margarine
1 vegetarian or meat bouillon cube
500 ml water
1 onion
1/4 celery
1 carrot
2 small potatoes
nutmeg
black pepper
salt
cooking cream (optional)
parmesan + parsley

Preparation:
Chop the onion and celery very fine. Cut the carrot into small pieces. Cut the potatoes into 2-3 mm thick slices. Put the onion, celery and carrot into a microwave-resistant container. Pour some olive oil on them and mix. Then put these vegetables into the microwave for a minute and half at 800 watts. Take it out, mix it and put it again into the microwave for 2 minutes.

Prepare the broth: let the bouillon cube dissolve in water in a pan. Give the rice a golden, transparent colour by frying it for a few minutes in a pan with butter. Add the microwaved vegetables and sliced potatoes into the rice. Add broth little by little and cook for the time indicated in the rice package.

Mix the risotto for most of the cooking time and add salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg in halfway of the cooking time. In the last few minutes of cooking time, add some cooking cream (less than a dl though) if you want to make your risotto more creamy. Serve with parsley and parmesan.

Béchamel sauce in the microwave

I found out about a quick and less nerve-breaking way to prepare besciamella than the traditional way! That is, al microonde! I recommend it to everybody, for the next time you make lasagne or what ever. For me the end result was without lumps.

Ingredients:
250 ml milk
20 g butter
20 g flour
nutmeg
salt

Preparation:
Let the butter melt in a small container in the microwave for 30 seconds, in 800 watts. Mix the flour into it and cook it in the microwave for 20 seconds more. Then pour the milk on it and cook in the microwave for a minute. Take it out. If you find any lumps with a fork, try to destroy them. Add nutmeg and salt, mix and cook for another minute. Mix once again and cook it for another 30 seconds. Use in the cooking you need it in.