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1
Heat the oven to 180 °C. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the separated Savoy cabbage leaves for 3–4 minutes until wilted and tender. Drain, refresh in cold water, then squeeze each leaf firmly and repeatedly in a clean cloth until no free moisture remains — the leaves should feel almost dry to the touch.
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2
Select a deep ovenproof dish. Lay a single close-fitting layer of stale rye bread slices across the base, then cover with a layer of blanched cabbage leaves, then a layer of Fontina slices. Repeat the sequence — bread, cabbage, Fontina — until the dish is filled, finishing with a layer of Fontina on top. The layers should be firm and distinct at this stage.
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3
Pour the hot beef broth slowly and evenly over the layered dish until the liquid reaches just below the top layer of cheese. The bread will begin to absorb the broth immediately; the cheese layer must remain above the surface of the liquid.
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4
Transfer the dish to the oven and bake at 180 °C for 45–60 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: the bake must be long enough that bread, cabbage, and cheese meld into a single unified mass — no layer should retain its own distinct texture — while the top colours to a deep golden without burning. Draw a spoon through the centre: the interior should yield as one cohesive, stringy body, with threads of melted Fontina pulling through the broth-saturated bread and cabbage.
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5
Remove from the oven and rest the dish uncovered for at least 20 minutes before serving. During this time the remaining broth is absorbed and the layers settle into final unity. The surface will lose its fierce heat and the interior will firm slightly — press the back of a spoon lightly at the centre: it should give with gentle resistance, not collapse.