Rigatoni with Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

I made this quite awhile ago but just recently thought about it as I was going through my pictures and dreaming of carbs. I have been trying to avoid them for  a last-ditch effort to de-bloat before Vegas. HA. At this point I would do some serious damage for this pasta, it was absolutely fantastic! It was a little time consuming with caramelizing the onions, but totally worth the effort. I have expressed my obsession with cheese before, and rigatoni is the perfect vessel for the two types of cheese that go into this dish. So if you aren't currently low-carb-ing yourself into misery, give it a shot! You will be pleased :)  


    Ingredients:

• 2 tbs butter
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 3 medium or 2 large onions, sliced
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms (baby portobellos) 
•  1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 tbs fresh chopped parsley
• 3 oz soft goat cheese
• 3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish 

   Method:

   1) In a deep skillet, melt 1tbs of better with 2tbs of olive oil over medium   high heat. Add the onions, 1/2tsp of salt and the sugar. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions become browned and caramelized. This will take approximately 20-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside when done.

  2) In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the rigatoni according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water, then drain.

  3) While the pasta boils, In the same pan that you cooked the onions, melt the remaining 1tbs of butter with 1tbs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms, cook stirring occasionally until they are tender and slightly browned. Add the remaining salt and pepper as well as the caramelized onions back into the skillet. 

  4) Toss the rigatoni with the onion and mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup of the  reserved pasta water, the goat cheese and the Parmesan cheese. If the  pasta seems too dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Top with extra Parmesan to serve.