I’m looking at restaurant menus for my upcoming trip to England and I’m struck by how often grilled tomatoes pop up as a side dish. Is this an English thing, similar to how one would expect a baked potato or fries with a steak in an American restaurant ?
It’s a very delicious English thing. An essential part of a full English fry-up.
I’ve never heard of it being an English thing, but I’ve never paid much attention to English food. It’s certainly getting more popular here (or at least roasted tomatoes are) and if I’ve got the grill out and have some tomatoes I’ll make them. A half tomato on the grill is really good.
Not at all just an English thing. My favorite Persian restaurant provides excellent grilled vegetables, enough to make a meal of, among which are grilled tomatoes as well as peppers & onions, etc.
Grilled in the UK can mean what broiled does in the US, if that helps. It’s not a particular staple or anything though, it’s just a really delicious way to cook a tomato.
It’s a standard part of what’s called a full breakfast in the British Isles. It’s not unknown outside the British Isles, but it’s more common there. Certain other items like black pudding or fried mushrooms are also considered fairly standard parts of the full breakfast. Despite the frequent mention of the full breakfast in the British Isles as being the usual meal, I suspect that smaller breakfasts are actually more common:
I’m sure they are, for at-home breakfasting. As a lout on holiday in England and Wales a couple of weeks ago, I did find full breakfasts offered at all the hotels and B&Bs where we stayed. I love an enormous breakfast every once in a while, so I took advantage. The ingredients varied, but there was ALWAYS a broiled tomato.
Yummy, but I’m partial to raw tomatoes, even at breakfast.
To be honest, I wouldn’t expect to see grilled tomatoes in a restaurant meal. I’d expect to see them in a cooked breakfast at a hotel or cafe, or in a “mixed grill”* type meal at a pub. In other words, cheap hearty dishes rather than something cooked by a chef.
(a mixed grill is basically a plate full of meat - steak, ham, sausages, chicken breast, etc)