Carmela's Chicken Rigatoni

This recipe comes from the Cookbook American's Most Wanted Recipes. It is a recipe from the Macaroni Grill called Carmela's Chicken Rigatoni. It is the best pasta recipe ever! It is so delicious it is one of my favorite dishes to make. It does take awhile to cook about 2 hours start to finish but it is well worth the time spent!

What you need:
1 large onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 package chicken breasts
2 tsp fresh basil
3/4 cup Marsala wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked
Opitional: Parmesan cheese


Slice the onion into thin strips and saute in 1 tbsp of each butter & olive oil. Saute the onions on low heat until they are dark brown and almost mushy. This part takes at least an hour to do so start the onions first giving yourself plenty of time.



In a serperate skillet heat 1 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp olive oil together and add the mushrooms (sliced), chicken pieces (cut in chunks), basil (chopped) and the carmelized onion. Saute until chicken is cooked through.



Remove the contents from the pan and place in a bowl. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine and let simmer for about a minute before returning the chicken mixture to the pan. Add the heavy cream bring to a boil before turning down the heat. Let simmer until sauce has slightly thickened. You can season with salt & pepper if you'd like.



Add the cooked rigatoni to the chicken mixture, stir to combine all the ingredients. Serve and garnish with parmesan cheese if you'd like. This dish will easily feed a family of 4.



I did slightly modify the original recipe but I find this works well!


Enjoy!