Flavors From The Fresh Foodie Trail®

Mesa is a culinary gateway here in the Southwest with a flourishing collection of charming, neighborhood farms and food-centric outposts providing a year-round bounty of seasonal goods for visitors to enjoy. These linked experiences create Arizona’s Fresh Foodie Trail® and carve out the ultimate road trip for those travelers with a penchant for good eats. This trail will find visitors enjoying homemade ice cream, picking peaches, discovering the benefits of heritage grains, tasting more than a dozen olive oils, and so much more. The trail stops share more than just great food, it is also a chance to take a bigger bite and learn how dining local matters and why you should get to know your farmer.

For a complete list of Fresh Foodie Trail® stops or to download the Agritourism guide visit FreshFoodieTrail.com.

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Vertuccio Farms
Peachy-Pizza with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

Ingredients:
1 lb. pre-made pizza dough
2 tbsp. of olive oil
2 ripe but firm peaches, sliced thin
6-8 slices of thin prosciutto
4 oz. of fresh crumbled goat cheese
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375° F
Roll out dough on pizza stone.
Brush olive oil on top.
Place peaches all around then sliced prosciutto on top.
Crumble on cheese and sprinkle with rosemary.
Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden.

Windmill Winery
Barbera Wine

Ingredients:
2 c. of fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 c. of dark brown sugar
1/2 bottle of Barbera Wine
1 c. of water
1 tbsp. of freshly grated orange peel
1 tsp. of salt
1 tbsp. of butter

Instructions:
Combine all the ingredients into a sauce pan.
On medium heat, stirring to help it along, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, watch carefully, continue to stir occasionally.
In a small ramekin, you can achieve your desired preference of thickness by mixing 1 tbsp. of cornstarch with a little cold water, stir until smooth.
Pour small amounts of this mixture into the saucepan, all while stirring constantly until you achieve your desired thickness.
To be served hot or cold.

Hayden Flour Mill
Cheesy Green Chili Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 box Hayden Flour Mills Cornbread Mix
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 1/4 c. water
1 can corn (15 oz.), drained
1 small can diced green chili (4 oz.), drained
1 c. cubed sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
In a large mixing bowl combine Hayden Flour Mills cornbread, water and melted butter and stir well until the mix is wetted and there are not dry spots left.
Then add the corn, green chilis and cheese and stir into the batter.
Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
Pour the cornbread batter in the baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Queen Creek Olive Mill
Spaghetti Aglio E Olio

Ingredients:
1 Ib. spaghetti
1/2 c. Queen Creek Olive Mill Balanced Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
Salt
Italian parsley, chopped
1 c. of reserved cooking water


Instructions:
Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve one cup of cooking water then drain.
A few minutes before the spaghetti is al dente, add Balanced Olive Oil, garlic, and red chili flakes to a sauté pan that is large enough to accommodate the pasta when it has cooked.
Cook over medium high heat until the garlic starts to turn golden (careful not to burn).
Transfer pasta to the sauté pan and toss. Salt to taste. If the pasta is dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.
Sprinkle with generous amounts of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

The Uprooted Kitchen (Located inside Barnone at Agritopia)
Plant-based Kale Pesto

Ingredients:
2 c. kale
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. walnuts
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 lemon juiced
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in blender.
Blend until desired consistency.

Hayden Four Mill
Artisan Bread

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups (400g) water 4 cups (500g) Artisan Bread Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (11g)
1/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast (1.5g)

Directions
STEP 1: MIX & REST
Measure water, flour, yeast, and salt into a large bowl.
Stir with spatula or mix with your hands until a shaggy ball of dough forms. Mix in the dry bits at the bottom of the bowl.
Cover and let rest for 20 minutes before folding.

STEP 2: FOLD
Wet your hands and reach underneath the dough and gently stretch it over on itself three of four times.
Repeat three more times over the next hour.

STEP 3: BULK FERMENT
Cover dough with a damp tea towel for bulk ferment—about 5–6 hours.

STEP 4: SHAPE LOAF
Pour dough onto counter and shape into a ball by pulling edges into the middle, and pinching the seams together.
Place the dough seam side up in the dusted proofing basket.
Cover with a floured cloth.

STEP 5: FINAL PROOF & BAKE

Place a covered Dutch Oven in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.
When the oven is preheated, tip the dough ball out of the proofing basket (seam side down) into the middle of a 12 x 18 inch sheet of parchment paper.
Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife or razor blade.
Grab the edges of the parchment and lower into the Dutch oven.
Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven. Reduce oven temperature to 450 and bake in the covered Dutch Oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes of initial bake time, remove the Dutch Oven lid and continue to bake 15 minutes longer.
Remove the bread from the pot; transfer to a cooling rack for 1-2 hours before. Enjoy!

Try out one of these recipes and share your creation with us to win a Fresh Foodie Trail® cutting board! Tag @VisitMesa and #FreshFoodieTrail