Risotto is an Italian dish made with a starchy, short grain rice (such as arborio or carnaroli). If you're interested in cooking a delicious vegetarian risotto, check out this Creamy Mushroom Risotto recipe. Orzo is a type of pasta made from wheat flour (semolina) and water. The pasta dough gets rolled and cut into a shape that looks like a large grains of rice. So while orzo looks a bit like the rice that would be used in risotto, it is not the same, because it's actually pasta!