Put all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and mix them well. Keep aside.

Clean the artichokes by removing the outer leaves and cutting the points. I like to also use part of the stem (about 5 cm – 2 inches), so I just remove the hard outer part of it. Scoop out the purple leaves and hair from the centre and put the artichoke hearts in some water with lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

Fill the artichoke hearts with the stuffing. Make sure to press the stuffing well inside or it may come out into the sauce while cooking.

Dip the top of the artichokes (where the filling is) in the beaten egg and then coat it with flour. Shallow fry just the top of the artichokes in some vegetable oil to seal in the filling, then remove and keep aside.

Sauté the remaining chopped onion in 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for a couple of minutes on a medium flame. Add the tomato purée and water and bring to a boil.

Add the stuffed artichoke hearts to the tomato sauce. Cover and cook on a medium flame for about 30 minutes or until the artichokes are soft and cooked through.

Cook the pasta in a large pot filled with salty boiling water and drain it when the pasta is “al dente”.

Mix the drained pasta with the tomato sauce and decorate with a stuffed artichoke heart.

Serve hot with some finely grated Pecorino Romano on the top.