Poached Salmon Nicoise

We had a salmon version of Salade Nicoise tonight. It serves 4-6, but I cut it in half. It was very good. Jim thought that tuna probably would stand up better to the olives. He ate probably the first olive of his life tonight. I gave Max one and guess what, he spit it out.
2 bay leaves
1T kosher salt
10 black peppercorns
2C white wine
2# skin on salmon fillet pieces
3 garlic cloves
1T whole grain mustard
2/3 C EVOO
2T each chopped Italian parsley and basil
2 large bunches watercress
10 small yellow-skinned new potatoes, boiled until tender and cut in half
4 hard cooked eggs cut in quarters
¼# green beans, trimmed and boiled until tender crisp
1/2C Nicoise olives
3 Roma tomatoes cut in lengthwise wedges
The recipe says takes an hour, but you can really do it at your leisure. I got this recipe out of the May issue of Sunset Magazine.
1. Toa large roasting pan, add bay leaves, salt, pepper corns, and wine. Add the salmon and enough water to cover.
2. Remove the salmon and set aside; bring the liquid to a boil, covered. Reduce to a simmer, then gently slide the salmon into liquid and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. My salmon took a little longer as it was a little thicker than the 1”. If you are making the full recipe, buy tail sections.
3. While salmon is cooking, make the dressing. I did this in my mini-food processor. Add the garlic, mustard, vinegar. Turn on and add the oil through the top. Then open up and put in the basil and parsley. Whirl again. Don’t forget the salt. I put the dressing in a gravy boat so each could add what they wanted.
4. Remove the salmon and place on a cooling rack set on a sheet pan and chill 10 minutes. Discard the poaching liquid.
5. They have you assemble on a large serving platter. As I stated, I divided it for the two of us. Even if you are making the full amount for 6-8, I would plate it separately dividing the ingredients and serving the dressing separately.
It was very tasty. I liked the salmon better than tuna. We just had a Yellow Tale Chardonnay that I also used in the poaching liquid. If you read yesterday, I found locally 2 of the green teas and Jim found his chips.