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1
Inspect each chicken liver with care. Remove every trace of green bile duct and any sinew. Rinse briefly under cold water and pat dry on kitchen paper. A single undetected bile duct will render the finished spread bitter beyond correction.
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2
Warm the olive oil in a wide sauté pan over a moderate flame. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. The vegetables should be entirely soft, translucent, and beginning to colour at the edges — they must not brown.
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3
Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the cleaned livers to the soffritto and cook for 5 minutes only, turning once. The exterior should colour to a deep brown while the interior remains faintly pink — this is where the dish lives or dies: livers taken even two minutes beyond this point turn grey, grainy, and bitter, and no subsequent step will recover them.
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4
Deglaze with the Vin Santo or dry Marsala. Allow the alcohol to bubble vigorously for 30–45 seconds until the sharp spirit note has left the pan. The sweetness and oxidative character of the wine remain in the sauce.
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5
Reduce the heat to low. Add the rinsed capers and the anchovy fillets. Stir for one minute until the anchovies have dissolved entirely into the sauce, coating the livers.
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6
Remove the sage leaves. Transfer the contents of the pan to a board and chop with a heavy knife to a rough, textured consistency — not a smooth paste. The spread should hold its shape and show visible pieces of liver and vegetable. Transfer to a bowl.
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7
Toast or grill the slices of pane sciocco until the surface is crisp and carries a pale char. Spread the liver mixture thickly — the balance between bread and liver depends on a generous layer. Serve at once.