Hail Mary Greens

A very Irish dish

This way of cooking cabbage gets its name from an Irish grandmother's way of measuring the time it takes to cook it.

If you happen to be a Roman Catholic you won't have any trouble with it. If you are not, you will need some other kind of timer that measures in seconds rather than minutes.

The great thing about this dish is that it cooks quickly (about two minutes) and it retains the vitamins, color and texture of the cabbage. Here's what you do:

You need a solid bottomed saucepan with a well fitting lid. Put about half a centimeter of water in it, a pat of butter (roughly five grams - it's not critical) and 5 or six twists of your black pepper grinder. Bring this to the boil.

Add your finely shredded cabbage, fit the lid and shake the saucepan to coat everything evenly.

Now return the saucepan to a fierce heat and, if you know how, say three Hail Marys.

Why? Because spoken out loud at conversational speed (as opposed to the penitent gabble) one Hail Mary takes 15 seconds. So three will make 45 seconds which is the exact time you need for the first cooking stage.

Next take the saucepan off the heat, add four or five more twists of pepper, shake it and then repeat the cooking process with three more Hail Marys, or a further 2 minutes and 15 seconds for those who prefer not to be seen muttering in the kitchen.

That's it. Your cabbage will be perfectly cooked. Drain before serving.

Of course, you could use a stopwatch, an egg-timer or some other device for the timing, but I cherish the picture of a grandmother at her devotions while preparing food for her family. There's something very Irish about it and very grandma too - not a moment nor a breath wasted in idleness 

By the way, you could add some chopped up and fried bacon to this before the second cooking stage for a traditional Irish dish of bacon and cabbage.

Or leave out the bacon and grate over some nutmeg just before serving. The combinations are endless. The main point is that you have preserved all the goodness of the cabbage while cooking it to perfection. It can be served straight away or used in other dishes such as pies.

You can even fry it a little at a time for a crisp finish which will have a slightly caramelized flavor and is delicious with pork or chicken.

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