Orzo is an Italian pasta shape which resembles grains of rice. In fact, “orzo” means “barley” in Italian, and in Italian cuisine, the word “orzo” often refers to barley, as in the case of drinks made with roasted barley. This pasta shape is immensely popular in soups and stews, and it is also used in Greek cuisine, often to prepare casseroles with orzo, lamb, and vegetables. Various other orzo dishes are prepared around the Mediterranean, and some cooks have come up with their own takes on orzo at home.

Many markets and grocery stores carry orzo in their pasta section. It can also be purchased fresh from companies which make pasta, or made at home with the assistance of a pasta extruder. Traditionally, orzo is made with semolina wheat, which is very hard, giving the pasta a hint of a bite. In addition to plain wheat orzo, this pasta can also be colored and flavored with ingredients like spinach or tomatoes. When made with soft wheat, orzo has a tendency to fall apart and turn into mush.

Because this pasta shape is so small, orzo dishes can be quite dense, as the pasta will compact into a solid mass, rather than having lots of air, as is the case with bigger pasta shapes. This is why the pasta is primarily used in soups or with soupy sauces, since plated orzo and orzo casseroles are very intense. Some people like to use orzo like rice in pilafs, deliberately aiming for a very rich, dense dish.

This rice-shaped pasta is closely related to couscous, a Middle Eastern food made by crumbling a wheat dough into small pieces. Orzo and couscous can be used interchangeably in some dishes, and they can also be interchanged with rice, barley, and other grains. This flexibility can make orzo a very useful thing to have around the kitchen, as orzo keeps much better than many grains, with a shelf life which is infinite, as long as the pasta is stored in a cool, dry place.

Cooks should be careful when working with orzo, because the pasta is so small that it can slip through the cracks in a pasta strainer and be gone down the sink before the cook has a chance to blink. A fine sieve can be used to drain orzo, or a cook can line a regular colander with cheesecloth to prevent would-be escapees. For cooks who are confident with the method of straining pasta against the lid of the pan the pasta is cooked in, this technique can also be used to drain orzo with minimal losses.