It was my turn to stir. I dipped a spoon into the pot of strained tomatoes, beef and sausage that had been simmering on the stove for two hours. Its deep red mahogany color and savory aroma took me back to my Nana’s kitchen in Newark, New Jersey. But outside, the sight of water buffalo grazing on stretched out green plains zapped me back to the present.

I was far from where I first tasted this sauce, yet paradoxically at its source — cooking in a farmhouse in southern Italy. It is in this region of Campania where the world’s best-known Italian foods, like this ragù napoletano (tomato and meat sauce) and pizza were born.

My husband and I met up in the ancient city of Paestum (founded as a Greek colony around 600 B.C.) with Arthur Schwartz, award-winning American cookbook author, teacher, and former host of New York’s daily “Food Talk” radio show. Four times a year Schwartz takes groups here on week-long culinary vacations that include cooking classes, visits to nearby Naples and Salerno, restaurants, wineries, and farms. For me — a grandchild of Italian immigrants — the trip was an experience that took me to the roots of the kitchens of my past.

Arthur Schwartz and Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Bartta

The setting, on the green fertile Sele Plain in the region of Campania (an hour and a half south of Naples), is tranquil and unspoiled by tourists. Most visitors come to Paestum for a look at its main attraction — the three best preserved Greek temples in Europe — and then move on.

But our trip took us deep into the soul of the town — its farms, food and most importantly, its people. Arthur, who has been visiting the region for 30 years, learning from its cooks and making friends with the locals, opened the door for us.

I’d met Arthur through his book, “Naples at Table,” critically acclaimed as a “bible of regional cooking, history and lore.” In it were recipes for all my Nana’s dishes (which I’d never seen written down) and much more. Reading his passionate coverage of the area was a siren’s call to hop a plane and get in on the adventure.

Arthur’s co-host was Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli Bartta — as completely down-to-earth as Arthur, despite the regal title. Cecilia owns and operates Tenuta Seliano, her guest farm or agriturismo where we dined and lodged. Amidst fields of escarole, fennel, olive trees and horse stables, are three 18th-century stone farm buildings that have been converted for guest accommodations.

Our room, in the turreted portion of one of the buildings, looked from the outside as if it was straight out of a fairytale. Inside, it was chilly as a dungeon — though the carved mahogany bed and armoire from Cecilia’s antique collection gave it a cozy old world ambience.