Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Marsala

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in 5 qt dutch oven or similar sized heavy bottomed pot.
Once the oil spreads to cover the bottom of the pot, add the onions and salt and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add mushrooms and let mushrooms and onions cook, uncovered for 2 minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar and let it cook down for about 7 minutes until the balsamic has evaporated and the mushrooms and onions are a deep brown.
Add the minced garlic and stir together for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the Marsala wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits that are stuck to the pan.
Add the chicken stock and rigatoni and stir so that the noodles are covered. Turn the heat down to medium and let it simmer with the lid off for 14 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesn't boil over.
After 14 minutes, the rigatoni should be al dente and the liquid should have reduced by about half.
Now, remove the dutch oven from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Stir until it is fully incorporated.
Add the parmesan and butter and stir until they are both melted into the sauce.
Fold the basil in and return the dutch oven to medium low heat. Warm it for 5-10 minutes until you are ready to serve.
Serve and garnish with extra parmesan, basil and a little black pepper.
Enjoy!

Notes:

To make this a more substantial dish, add 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken after you add the cream.
To make it vegetarian, use Veggie or mushrooom Stock in place of the Chicken Stock.
To make this a dairy free and vegan recipe, use nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan. Instead of the heavy cream, create a vegan, non-dairy option by blending 1 cup of cashews and ¾ cup water in a Vitamix or other high powered blender to create a rich cream substitute. Elminate the butter.
This makes a great freezer meal! Just place leftovers in a sealed container and it may be frozen for up to 6 months. To reheat, thaw and then cover with foil and heat on 300°F for 20 minutes. Add a little more parmesan and serve!
If you don't have marsala wine, there are a few ways to substitute it.
- Madeira is a Portuguese wine that is the best substitute.
- You can use 1 cup Brandy, 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon brown sugar.
- You can also use a blend of sherry and sweet vermouth, or sweet sherry.
If you choose to use a noodle other than rigatoni, no problem! But cook your noodles separately and then add them to the sauce at the end. This way if you use a less sturdy noodle, it won't turn to mush before the sauce is done. No biggie! :)
Enjoy!!