crab lettuce rolls w/ mango salsa

Okay, so Kevin at Closet Cooking finally convinced me to go out and buy some mangoes. After seeing about 5 fantastic mango dishes prepared by Kevin, I couldn't help but hop on the bandwagon. Today was a prime showcase of why I hate Georgia weather. It was hot, humid and just plain dreadful. This coming a day after black clouds loomed over Georgia and shot peanut sizes hails for about 2 hours. Yes, the snow in Canada sucked but at least the weather was consistent. I hate Georgia weather period.

I decided to make a Crab Lettuce Roll w/ Mango Salsa to have a light and refreshing dinner on this hot day. The sweetness of the crab and the mangoes compliment each other well and the lettuce wrap is a crisp and refreshing way to enjoy this combination. This would also do well as an appetizer or as an hors d'oeuvre. If you don't want to do a wrap, you can use a butterhead or baby gem lettuce and use them as cups. Just fill the lettuce first with the crab and then top with a little salsa.

Crab Lettuce Rolls w/ Mango Salsa
Adapted from Gordon Ramsay, Serves 4

Ingredients: (Salsa)
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 cup mangos, finely diced
- 1 red chile, finely diced
- juice of 1 lime
- bunch of cilantro, chopped (fresh coriander)

Ingredients: (Crab Mix - adjust accordingly)
- about 1 cup crab meat
- 1.5 tablespoon mayonaise
- 0.5 tablespoon coarse mustard
- little bunch of cilantro, chopped
- juice of half a lime

1) Combine all the salsa ingredients in a bowl and mix together. The vegetables and mango dices should relatively be about the same size. Season lightly with salt and pepper and adjust seasonings as needed after tasting. Chill in the fridge until use.
2) Combine the ingredients for the crab mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3) Place crab meat mixture at one end of the lettuce and roll tightly (like a big cigar or preparing to chiffonade)
4) To serve: place a little salsa on the bottom of the plate and place the crab rolls on top, seamside down. Spoon a little more salsa on top of the rolls and serve cool.

If you find crab meat too strong of a flavor, you can substitute for imitation crab meat. I haven't tried these with cooked shrimp but I think that would work well also as shrimp tends to be slightly sweet.