At Quo Vadis, the nearly 100-year-old restaurant and private members’ club in London’s Soho, the chef Jeremy Lee makes timeless, nourishing food that foregrounds excellent produce. That approach extends to the family breakfast that the restaurant’s staff eat together most days in the dining rooms between services, around 11 a.m. The dishes the cooks whip up for these quick, improvised meals also tend to incorporate leftovers, allowing the team to clean out the fridges while they catch up and refuel. In the video above, Lee demonstrates how to make a typically hearty Quo Vadis staff breakfast dish of scrambled eggs and autumnal greens on toast. A recipe is below, but Lee encourages adaptation when it comes to the vegetables — whatever’s in season will likely taste best. Two constants, though, should be the highest-quality eggs and butter you can find.
Read more about Lee’s staff meals, and those shared by five other creative teams, including the employees of the film director Ava DuVernay and the fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra, here.
ImageA team member delivering a pan of Lee’s eggs and greens to the table. Staff breakfasts are usually eaten quickly, within 30 minutes.Credit...Jerome MonnotJeremy Lee’s Scrambled Eggs and GreensServes 3-4 people
Greens
1 cup podded broad beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
7 ounces kale
5 ounces spinach
1 medium head spring green cabbage
3 spring onions, finely sliced
A big handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 small zucchini (or other seasonal vegetables), finely sliced
3 medium pre-boiled, peeled potatoes, coarsely chopped
4-ounce ball of burrata
⅔ cup ricotta
Sea salt
Black pepper
Toast
1-2 slices sourdough bread per person
Butter, as needed
Scrambled eggs
8 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter
Sea salt
Black pepper
Method
1. Bring a pan of water to boil, add the podded broad beans and cook for 2 minutes before draining and then submerging in cold water to cool.
2. Pour the olive oil into a medium-size pan and place over moderate heat. Add the potatoes and zucchini (or other seasonal vegetables) and lightly fry for 3 minutes. Add the greens and muddle together until wilted before adding the broad beans. Tumble the burrata and ricotta into the pan, breaking up the burrata with a spatula, and continue to stir until dispersed throughout the pan. Lightly season with sea salt and black pepper.
3. Toast the bread in the oven, spread with butter and keep warm.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the scrambled eggs. Melt the butter in a pan over a moderate heat, pour in the eggs and scramble gently with a spatula for about 5 minutes until the eggs are almost entirely set but some liquid still remains. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
5. Place the vegetables on the toast, then top with the scrambled eggs. Serve swiftlygolden palasyo, on a warm plate.