What's a Halupkie?

I believe everybody should have family "specialties". You know -- that 'GO TO DISH" that, when eaten, will taste like love...and remind them of home. The best cook I ever personally knew was my mother-in-law, Helen Farro. And she taught me how to make halupkies. Which I never had until I met her. Helen was half Irish, half Ukranian, and she married an Italian. Her halupkies were neatly folded cabbage rolls -- and she always made it look easy. They are DELICIOUS...

Over the holidays, my cousins Linda & Jackie came for a little visit -- and I put them to work, making halupkies. Here's the official "recipe", girls:

One large head of cabbage.

Filling -- mix in a bowl:
1 lb. raw hamburger
1 yellow onion -- chopped fine
1 cup of Minute Rice
1 cup of "salsa"

Sauce:
1 can of tomato soup
1 soup can of water
1 soup can of salsa

Fill your largest pot with water and bring to a boil. I stick a big meat fork into the core of my head of cabbage -- so I can lift it in and out of the boiling water (without piercing the leaves). Put the head of cabbage down into the boiling water -- then "cut away" the outside leaves as they get just slightly tender...(just cut into the outer leaves, several at a time -- keep lifting the cabbage in and out of the boiling water).

Hey -- it takes longer to write about than it takes to actually DO.

Helen's "trick" when rolling the halupkies is to shave away the thick vein of the cabbage leaves -- you can see in front of Linda, on the cutting board, the shavings...

Then, roll -- as pictured.

Helen always cooked halupkies in a pressure cooker. Make the halupkies, cover with sauce, bring to pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. SOFT AND WONDERFUL.

You can also make them in the oven, in a covered roaster, cook for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. This is a picture of Jackie -- taking her first cabbage-rolling-job-very seriously.