Its root is chopped up in a dish (7)
I believe the answer is:
risotto
'dish' is the definition.
(risotto is a kind of dish)
'its root is chopped up' is the wordplay.
'is chopped up' is an anagram indicator.
'its'+'root'='itsroot'
'itsroot' anagrammed gives 'RISOTTO'.
'in a' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for risotto that I've seen before include "Main course" , "food dish" , "Rice/stock dish" , "Italian recipe" , "Italian food" .)