CRAB-ASPARAGUS LETTUCE ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine all dressing ingredients in food processor or blender; blend until smooth and the consistency of a mayonnaise based dip.
• Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
• Pour the pecan halves on a tray and toast, 7 or 8 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
• Set aside to cool, when cool, coarse chop 1/4 cup, leave the rest whole.
• Break tough ends off asparagus; steam for 3 minutes, just until tender crisp, there should be lots of crunch left.
• Plunge into ice water; slice all but 12 spears into 1/4 inch pieces.
• Scrape the carrots and grate, seed and dice the tomatoes.
• Rinse the crabmeat and thourghly dry on paper towel, squeezing out the moisture.
• (If using imitation, chop into small pieces.) Combine crabmeat, chopped asparagus, grated carrots, diced tomatoes, chopped pecans, dried dill weed, salt and cayenne pepper; mix well.
• Add 1/2 of the dressing to the crabmeat mixture.
• Use only enough dressing to hold the mixture together.
• The mixture should be fairly dry, not runny.
• Reserve the rest of the dressing to use as a dip for the lettuce rolls.
• Wash and separate lettuce leaves, dry as much as possible, best dried in a spinner.
• Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of crabmeat mixture in lettuce cup and roll as tightly as possible appetizer size, use toothpicks if necessary, or leave open if you wish.
• Repeat until all filling mixture is used.
• Place on serving platter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if using.
• (I like to grate the Parmesan with my zester grater because it makes nice fine fluffy strings.) Place a pecan half on top of each roll.
• Garnish the platter with more pecan halves and the 12 reserved asparagus spears.
• Serve chilled at least one hour.
• The lettuce rolls can be made larger for luncheon use etc.
• ,or they can be served with crabmeat mixture in a bowl and the lettuce cups separate for each diner to fill themselves, serve extra asparagus and pecan halves on the side.