Risotto

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈzoʊtoʊ/

Definitions

1. A creamy Italian dish made with arborio rice that is gradually cooked in broth and often flavored with ingredients like cheese, seafood, or vegetables
2. This dish features rice cooked slowly in stock, resulting in a rich and flavorful creamy texture, often enhanced with various toppings
3. Generally regarded as a hearty meal, this popular preparation involves stirring rice and broth to create a smooth consistency, frequently incorporating items such as mushrooms or seafood

Etymology: Risotto is the Italian diminutive of "riso", meaning "rice", and the suffix "-otto" gives it the sense of a little or prepared portion of rice. The rice itself is the key to the dish: the grains are toasted in fat, then cooked by adding hot stock a ladle at a time, and that gradual stirring is what releases their starch into a creamy sauce without any cream needed. Rice reached Italy through the Arab world, and its cultivation spread through the Po valley in northern Italy, which is why risotto is so closely tied to that region. The name simply describes the food by its main ingredient, so the English word borrowed directly from Italian keeps the same plain meaning.

Synonyms: rice dish, Italian rice, creamy rice