Sauté the chopped onions in the extra virgin olive oil and let it fry on a low fire for 1 minute.

Add the sliced artichokes, salt to taste and a little water. Cover and let it cook until the artichokes are soft. Put the fire off and keep aside.

In the meantime prepare the béchamel sauce by following this recipe.

Mix the béchamel sauce and the artichokes, add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and season with salt to taste. Keep aside to cool down.

Put the milk, butter and salt in a pot and put it on the fire. As soon as it boils, put the fire off and add the sifted flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon until well combined. You will obtain a pliable dough.

As soon as the dough is safe to handle with your hands, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead it until smooth and soft.

Make a ball and wrap it in cling wrap. Let it rest at room temperature until completely cool.

Now roll the dough into a 3mm – 0.12 inches thick sheet. Do it on a sheet of baking paper, to make sure it does not stick. Cut out circles of 13 cm – 5 inches in diameter.

Place some artichoke filling and 1/8 of the chopped smoked scamorza in one half of each circle, fold the other half over it and seal them well by pressing the edges closed with your fingers.

Beat the egg in a bowl and add salt to it and put the breadcrumbs in a separate plate.

Dip each sofficino in the egg and then coat it well with breadcrumbs, pressing with your palm so the crumbs stick well to it.

Shallow fry them in warm vegetable oil. Or bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes, but spray them with some extra virgin olive oil before baking them.