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1
Butter a terracotta pot generously. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the stripped, thick-cut Savoy cabbage and blanch briefly — 2 to 3 minutes — until just beginning to yield. Drain. The cabbage should be pliable but hold its structure; it must not be fully cooked at this stage.
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2
Build the layers directly in the buttered terracotta pot. Lay slices of stale bread to cover the base completely, then a layer of blanched cabbage, then an even layer of sliced Fontina. Repeat: bread, cabbage, Fontina. The final layer is Fontina. The layering should be even and deliberate; each element must be represented in every serving.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Bring the beef broth to a full simmer and pour it slowly and evenly over the layered pot until the bread is completely saturated — not merely dampened. Press the layers gently with the back of a spoon; the broth should rise almost to the surface of the top layer. The bread must be soaked through before the pot enters the oven; a dry interior cannot be corrected by baking. Lay the butter in a piece on top.
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4
Place the pot, uncovered, in an oven set at 190 °C. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. The dish is ready when the top layer of Fontina is golden and crusted, with visible colour at the edges, while the interior — pressed with a spoon — has unified into a single yielding mass of bread, cabbage, and melted cheese. The surface crust must offer resistance; a pale or soft top indicates under-baking.
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5
Remove from the oven and bring the terracotta pot directly to the table. Serve immediately, spooning portions so that each contains all three elements: soaked bread, collapsed cabbage, and melted cheese.