From Rosalind Creasy

This dish is so beautiful it’s absolutely eye-popping. I’ve used ‘Red Emperor’ tulips, but you can try any variety that has large, cup-shaped petals. As for the crab, use fresh or frozen, thawed; use canned, drained, only as a last resort.

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill or mint (optional)
Dash of pepper or cayenne
1 cup (about 5 ounces) crab meat, flaked
25 to 30 fresh asparagus spears
25 to 30 tulip petals*

In a medium bowl, beat cheese with lemon juice, herbs, and pepper; stir in crab.

Break tough ends off asparagus. Blanch in 1 inch of boiling water in a large skillet with a lid, or steam standing upright in a couple of inches of water in a tall, narrow pot, until crisp-tender, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness of stems. Plunge into an ice-water bath for 1 minute; then pat dry. Trim asparagus to about 5 inches; from the trimmings, cut as many ¼-inch-thick rounds as you have tulip petals. Save extra ends for salads.

Fill each tulip petal with about ½ a rounded teaspoon of crab mixture and garnish with an asparagus round. (If your petals are large and asparagus thin, you can use 3 rounds to garnish each filled petal.) Arrange asparagus in a fan on a serving platter and place tulip petals alternately (or create your own pattern).
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See also Rosalind’s Edible Organic Flowers List (with Botanic Names)
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*Edible Flower Disclaimer
Rosalind Creasy is author of Rosalind Creasy’s Recipes From The Garden: 200 Exciting Recipes from the Author of the Complete Book of Edible Landscaping.
Image Credit: © Nikolay Petkov | Dreamstime.com
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