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1
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the verza leaves for 2 minutes, then drain and spread on a clean cloth to remove excess moisture. The leaves should be pliable but not waterlogged — squeeze gently; no water should run freely.
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2
Heat the oven to 180 °C. Select a narrow, deep terracotta casserole. Lay a first layer of black bread slices across the base, cutting to fit with no significant gaps. Cover with a layer of blanched verza, then a layer of Fontina slices. Season with salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Press the layers down firmly with the flat of the hand before proceeding. Repeat — bread, verza, Fontina, seasoning, compress — until the casserole is filled, finishing with a layer of Fontina on top. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient compression and too wide a vessel give shallow, waterlogged layers that will never cohere; the layers must be dense, even and well pressed.
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3
Ladle the hot, simmering broth slowly over the assembled layers until it just reaches the top surface without submerging the final Fontina layer. The bread will begin to absorb the broth immediately — the surface should glisten but not pool.
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4
Cover the casserole tightly with a lid or foil and bake at 180 °C for 30 minutes. The broth should be audibly murmuring at the sides of the dish; the bread will have absorbed the liquid and the interior should hold its shape when pressed with a spoon.
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5
Remove the lid and bake uncovered for a further 15 minutes. The dish is ready when the Fontina on top is deeply golden, bubbling at the edges and crackling — not merely melted but beginning to colour to a dark amber at the rim.
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6
Remove from the oven and rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before serving. The layers must settle and any remaining broth be fully absorbed; when a spoon pressed into the centre meets resistance rather than liquid, the zuppa is ready to portion.