Sfoglio a cerchi

I adore artichokes and when I came across this traditional Puglian pie recipe I had to give it a try. 

Ingredients
serves 6-8

400g artichokes hearts, (preferably best quality in oil from a jar but in brine from a can will do) 
300ml milk
60g butter
25g vegetarian Italian hard cheese
25g plain flour
salt
pepper

for the pastry
375g plain flour
100g Vegetable fat, chilled and cut into 1cm cubes
3 eggs
1 tsp salt 

Method

Begin by making the pastry. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the veg fat (keeping a few cubes for later) the two eggs and the salt. Mix together adding water a little at a time, just enough to form a smooth medium-soft dough.  Wrap with clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

Melt 40g of butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir constantly until smooth. Pour in the milk a little at a time, stirring briskly to incorporate the milk to create a bechamel sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat immediately. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put the remaining 20g of butter into a frying pan. Add the artichokes and fry for 15 minutes. Season the artichokes lightly with salt and pepper.  Add the fried artichokes and the grated vegetarian Italian hard cheese into the bechamel sauce.  Taste and further season if needed.

Place a little less than half the pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out to form a thin round about 25cm in diameter.  Place on a baking sheet. Melt the reserved veg fat and then brush it over the pastry. Chill for 10 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200C

Roll out the remaining pastry to another thin round about 28cm in diameter. Place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Spoon the filling into the centre of the pastry, leaving a 3cm border. 

Beat the remaining egg and use it to brush the edges of the pastry. Carefully place the top pastry layer over the filling and crimp over the edges. Brush the top with the beaten egg and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature.