Paillards

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dish consisting of thinly pounded meat, often grilled or sautéed, typically served with a sauce
2. Referring to a cooking style that involves flattening meat for quicker cooking and a tender texture
3. Describing a culinary technique where meat is thinned out by pounding to enhance flavor absorption and reduce cooking time

Etymology: "Paillards" is the plural of "paillard", a noun for thinly pounded meat, and the name traces back to a Paris restaurant. The restaurant Paillard, run under the surname of its proprietor, gave its name to the dish, which was served there in thin slices. The word's older history is a different story. It was borrowed into English in the 1970s from French "paillard", where the restaurant's name had become the everyday term for the dish. That French form, in turn, is tied to the medieval word "palliard", which referred to a person, not to food, showing how far the meaning has travelled.