Making the old, not-so-heavy Italian dishes
Before Mario Batali, before Mary Ann Esposito or Lidia Bastianich, and way, way before Giada de Laurentiis, there was G. Franco Romagnoli. This is a tribute to the man who was television's first true Italian chef.
Just as Julia Child emerged as the face of French cooking in America, Franco and his wife, Margaret, became the poster couple for Italian cuisine when their show, "Romagnoli's Table," debuted WGBH in 1973.
Italian cooking had long been misunderstood in this country to mean a menu of heavier-than-lead meatballs served on overcooked spaghetti, doughy pizza and gooey cheese lasagna. Franco and Margaret came and showed us how to roll our own fresh pasta, making light and flavorful sauces in the time it took for the pasta to cook.
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