Looking for a cozy, crowd-pleasing dish this holiday season? This recipe is a classic comfort food with a farm-fresh twist. By blending an entire head of cauliflower into the creamy sauce and topping it with a caraway-scented rye crust, we’ve elevated traditional mac n’ cheese to something truly special. Featuring Avonlea Cheddar from Prince Edward Island, this dish is packed with bold flavour and crispy texture. Perfect as a main for six or a side for twelve, it’s sure to become a family favorite!

Yield: 6 mains or 12 sides

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 head cauliflower, florets trimmed, stalk and stem chopped

2 cups milk

4 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1-pound Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar or another aged cheddar cheese, grated, reserve

1 cup for crust

Caraway Rye Crust

2 ounces butter

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

8 ounces light rye bread

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (reserved from above)

Procedure

Avonlea Cheddar | Caraway Rye Crust

You can mix an entire head of cauliflower into a batch of classic mac n’ cheese. Pureeing half the head into the sauce as a thickener is the tasty secret. That’s not the only twist though. For rich flavour use your very best cheddar, like Avonlea Cheddar, an exceptional cheese made the old- fashioned way by Cows Creamery on Prince Edward Island. Level up the crust too with rye bread for flavour and more cheese for crispy texture!

Make the Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese
Preheat oven to 350°. Turn on convection fan if you have one.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a furious boil. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente, tender but still slightly chewy, 10 minutes or so. Drain and reserve. Rinse the pot to use again. Toss half the cauliflower florets and all the chopped stems and stalks into the large pot. Add the milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until tender, 10 minutes or so. Transfer to a high-speed blender, add the garlic, mustard, paprika, and salt and starting very slowly, carefully puree until smooth. (Hot liquids are dangerous, they can violently explode. For safety, drape a kitchen towel over blender, start slow, then gradually increase speed.) Return the sauce to the pot. Smoothly whisk in the cheese. Stir in the macaroni and reserved cauliflower florets. Transfer to a large baking dish.

Make the Caraway Rye Crust and Bake.
Toss the butter into a small pot over medium-high heat. Swirl gently as it melts, steams, foams and eventually lightly browns. Remove from heat and add caraway seeds, swirling and gently toasting until fragrant, a minute or so. Grind bread into rough crumbs in food processor. Add the butter mixture and reserved cup of cheese. Pulse further, just enough to mix into coarse crumbs. Spread into a thick even layer over the mac n’ cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, at least 45 minutes.