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1
Place the smoked pork bone in 1.2 litres of cold water and simmer for 30 minutes. The broth is ready when it carries a clear pork fat slick on the surface and smells fully of smoked bone.
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2
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Blanch the cicoria amara for 3 minutes, then drain and discard the water entirely. Return the greens to the pot with fresh salted boiling water and blanch for a further 2 minutes. Drain. The greens should be wilted but retain a distinct deep-green colour and a residual, tempered bitterness — not raw, not neutralised.
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3
Melt the lard in a heavy pot over moderate heat. Add the peperoncino and allow it to perfume the fat — the oil will redden and the kitchen will carry a faint heat. Add the drained, double-blanched cicoria amara and stir to coat in the fat.
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4
Pour the pork bone broth over the greens, discarding or reserving the bone. Simmer together for 10 minutes. The broth should be richly savoury and slightly cloudy with rendered fat.
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5
Distribute the torn stale bread among the serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup directly over the bread and allow it to stand for one minute before serving. The bread is ready when it has swollen and absorbed broth but holds its structure under a spoon — it must not have dissolved to paste.
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6
Finish each bowl with a thick grating of aged Pecorino Molisano. Serve immediately. The sharp mineral bite of the cheese should be clearly audible as a counterpoint to the pork fat and the residual bitterness of the greens.