Healthy recipes that are decadent too

Right. It’s 2015. That means a new year; some (maybe not so new) new year’s resolutions and, for most us, a renewed determination to cook and eat healthy food, if not all of the time, then at least a fair proportion of it. Or at least that’s the plan.

And here it is – one of my biggest bugbears and the source of much grumbling and general despair. I am finding, lately, that I have less and less time for the way “healthy food” is generally presented to people. We’re learning more and more that fats are not the enemy we once thought they were, and our focus should really be on eating as many plant-based greens as possible, and avoiding processed food, and sugar in particular.

There’s far too much of the hair-shirt vibe – the idea that healthy eating must inevitably involve some huge sacrifice that makes life almost intolerable. There’s a lingering, hard-to-shift belief that healthy food is by definition bland and, well, a bit prim really. Like a dull cousin you feel you must hang out with at a party, just because they’re family – and because the grown-ups are watching.

This is rubbish, of course. Just because certain foods are healthy does not mean that eating them has to feel like deprivation. With proper thought and great ingredients, healthy food feels properly decadent and delicious. And even better, if you eat it often enough, it feels this way not just for 10 minutes or half an hour, but into the medium and long term, because your digestion is better, your skin clearer, your sleep more sound.

Right, rant over. Time now for the proof that healthy eating can be incredibly tasty and satisfying too. This week, to kick off 2015, I’ve come up with two recipes that are easy and quick to put together, and taste decadent as well. I mean, in what universe are scallops not a total treat? In this Thai salad, they are poached in a coconut broth laced with garlic and ginger and padded out with mangetout and beansprouts.

The second recipe is for a soup that somehow manages to seem incredibly creamy without containing any cream at all. In fact, it has just six ingredients, the main ones being chicken and coriander. Thick, flavoursome and luscious, this really is chicken soup for the soul.

Food cooked and styled by Domini Kemp and Gillian Fallon