Nuttolene and Celery Salad

A Battle Creek-style vegetarian salad built on nuttolene, a canned peanut loaf that no longer exists under that name. The toasting step is what makes the dish work, and it is easy to skip.

• What nuttolene wasA firm, pale peanut-protein loaf sold in cans by the Sanitas/Battle Creek food companies, roughly the texture of a stiff pate. Nothing on a supermarket shelf matches it exactly; the closest substitutes are a firm plain peanut or gluten loaf, or extra-firm tofu pressed hard, though tofu is blander and wetter.
• Toast for texture, not colour aloneUntoasted, the cubes go pasty in mayonnaise and the salad turns to mush. Toasting dries the cut faces so they hold their edges once dressed; this is the hinge of the recipe.
• Oven heatThe original gives none. A moderate oven, 350F, for 15-20 minutes, turning the cubes once, browns them lightly without drying them through.
• Cool completelyWarm cubes will thin the mayonnaise and it may break. Let them come fully to room temperature before dressing.
• Dice sizeCut the loaf and the celery to about half-inch dice so the two read as equal partners. Celery cut much finer disappears into the dressing.
• Dressing quantityTwo-thirds cup of mayonnaise for two cups of solids is generous by current taste. Start with half and add more; the toasted cubes absorb dressing as they stand.
• YieldRoughly two and a half cups dressed, enough for three or four as a salad course, or four sandwiches on plain bread.