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1
Clean the chicken livers with care: strip away all connective sinew and excise every bile duct. Any trace of green-tinged duct left on the flesh will make the finished spread irreversibly bitter. Pat the livers dry with kitchen paper.
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2
Warm the butter and olive oil together in a wide sauté pan over a medium flame. Add the finely chopped onion and the sage leaves. Cook gently, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent but without colour — roughly eight to ten minutes. The pan should exhale a steady, quiet sizzle; if it hisses sharply, lower the heat.
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3
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the cleaned chicken livers in a single layer and cook, turning once, for two to three minutes per side. This is where the dish lives or dies: the livers must remain slightly pink at the centre when you remove the pan from the heat — residual heat will carry them to just-done. Grey, fully cooked livers produce a dull, grainy, bitter spread with none of the creamy richness the dish demands.
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4
Pour in the vin santo and let it bubble vigorously, scraping up any caramelised deposits from the base of the pan, until the sharp alcohol smell softens to something rounded and sweet — about one minute.
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5
Remove the sage leaves. Add the anchovy fillets and the rinsed, finely chopped capers to the pan. Using a fork, mash the livers coarsely against the side of the pan, incorporating the anchovies and capers as you work. The result must be a rough, textured spread that retains some identity — not a smooth purée. A brief pulse in a food processor is permissible, but stop well before the mixture becomes homogeneous. Taste and adjust salt, bearing in mind the anchovies and capers already carry considerable salinity.
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6
Beat in a knob of cold butter off the heat for silkiness. Add a squeeze of lemon juice if a brighter finish is wanted. The spread may be made up to thirty minutes ahead and reheated gently before use.
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7
Toast or grill the bread rounds until golden and firm on both sides. For the softened version, pass each round briefly through warm broth so the surface yields slightly without becoming soggy; the bread should still hold its shape under the spread. Spread the liver mixture generously while both bread and spread are warm — not hot, not cold — and serve immediately on the antipasto platter.