There can be little doubt that when Italian cuisine comes up in conversation that pasta is often the star of the discussion. There is a good reason for this, of course. Most everyone loves a good spaghetti carbonara or pesto fusilli.

However, rice is just as important to Italian cuisine as pasta, though it is seldom appreciated as such. And though risotto is the most well-traveled, it is hardly the only dish derived from the grain that's been growing in Italy since the 15th century. Estimated to have been first sowed in 1468 in the wetlands outside of Pisa in Tuscany, rice went on to become a staple crop across several Italian regions, per The National Library of Medicine.