{{Short description|Type of pasta}} {{Other uses}} {{Infobox food | name = Orzo | image = Orzo.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Uncooked orzo | alternate_name = ''Risoni'', ''pépinettes'', ''piñones'', ''ptitim'', ''riewele'' | country = Mediterranean basin | region = | creator = | course = | type = Pasta | served = | main_ingredient = Durum wheat | variations = }}
'''Orzo''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɔːr|z|oʊ|,_|ˈ|ɔːr|t|s|oʊ}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/orzo|title=ORZO|work=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/amp/english/orzo|title=Orzo|work=Collins English Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins|access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|orzo|access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈɔrdzo|lang}}; {{literally|barley}}; from Latin {{lang|la|hordeum}}), also known in Italy as '''{{lang|it|risoni}}''' ({{IPA|it|riˈzoːni|lang}}; 'large [grains of] rice'), and popular in Greek cuisine as '''''kritharaki''''' (κριθαράκι), is a form of short-cut pasta shaped like a large grain of rice.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQEkAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Orzo%22&pg=PA8&article_id=1151,2341247 |title=Gadsden Times |publisher=Gadsden Times |language=en}}</ref> Orzo is made from flour,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5BPAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Orzo%22&pg=PA22&article_id=6757,806052 |title=The Times-News |publisher=The Times-News |language=en}}</ref> often with semolina.
The name {{lang|it|orzo}} is common for this pasta shape in North America, but less so in Italy, where the word usually means 'barley'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orzo - Significato ed etimologia - Ricerca |url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/ricerca/orzo/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>
==Preparation== {{More citations needed section|date=April 2025}} There are many different ways to serve orzo. It can be an ingredient in soup,<ref name=":0"/> including avgolemono, a Greek soup,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7gSAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Orzo%22&pg=PA1 |title=Spokane Chronicle |publisher=Spokane Chronicle |language=en}}</ref> and in Italian soups, such as minestrone. It can also be part of a salad, a pilaf, or ''giouvetsi'', or baked in a casserole.<ref name="What Is Orzo? Cooking and Recipes">{{cite web |last1=Alfaro |first1=Danilo |title=What Is Orzo? Cooking and Recipes |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-orzo-and-how-to-cook-it-4160739 |website=The Spruce Eats |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
It can also be boiled and lightly fried, to create a dish similar to risotto.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kang |first=Kiran |date=17 September 2022 |title=What is Orzo and how to prepare |url=https://homerecipespoint.com/orzo-rice-pasta-salad-healthy/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401041714/https://homerecipespoint.com/orzo-rice-pasta-salad-healthy/ |archive-date=1 April 2023 |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref>
When the pasta is made, orzo can be colored by saffron, chilies, and black beans to yield yellow, orange, or black pasta.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
==Other names== Orzo is essentially identical to the {{lang|el|κριθαράκι}} ({{Transliteration|el|kritharáki}}, {{literally|little barley}}), or {{lang|el|μανέστρα}} ({{Transliteration|el|manestra}} when in soup) in Greek cuisine, {{lang|tr|arpa şehriye}} ({{literally|barley noodle}}) in Turkish cooking, and {{lang|ar|لسان العصفور}} ({{Transliteration|ar|lisān al-ʿaṣfūr}}, {{literally|bird tongue}}) in Egyptian cooking. In Spain, the equivalent pasta is called {{lang|es|piñones}} (also the Spanish word for 'pine nuts', which orzo resembles<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-40-AAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Orzo%22&pg=PA13&article_id=3828,3174022 |title=Bangor Daily News |publisher=Bangor Daily News |language=en}}</ref>) or {{lang|es|gurullos}}.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cax-DwAAQBAJ&dq=gurullos&pg=PA22 |title=Andalusian Cuisine and Poetry |date=12 December 2018 |publisher=Ediciones diference |language=en}}</ref> Ptitim is a rice-grain-shaped pasta developed in the 1950s in Israel as a substitute for rice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-30 |title=Spicy ptitim (Israeli couscous) |url=http://food.lizsteinberg.com/2012/07/30/spicy-ptitim-israeli-couscous/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Cafe Liz |language=en-US}}</ref>
It is also part of the traditional cuisine of eastern France, from Lorraine to Provence, where orzo is called {{lang|fr|pépinettes}} or {{lang|gsw|riewele}} depending on the region. In Alsace, orzo is typically served in a chicken broth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Riewele soupe {{!}} Pâtes Grand-mère |url=https://www.patesgrandmere.com/recettes/riewele-soupe |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.patesgrandmere.com}}</ref>
==See also== {{Commons category-inline}} {{Portal|Italy|Greece|Food}} * List of pasta
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Pasta|state=collapsed}}
Category:Types of pasta Category:Greek cuisine Category:Middle Eastern cuisine