Red Lentil Soup
A smooth red lentil soup with onion, carrot and potato, finished with cumin and lemon. This version uses olive oil and water.
The Turkish pantry
Onion
Understand bulb-onion choices, from a gently cooked soup base to a crisp raw salad.
Last updated:
This guide focuses on bulb onions. Yellow onions are one type; spring onions and leeks are separate ingredients.
Types & forms
Yellow bulb onion
A practical cooking choice; its flavor becomes sweeter as it cooks.
Red bulb onion
Adds color when raw; the color and flavor change with cooking.
Sweet bulb onion
Milder raw flavor; does not keep as long as storage onions.
What to look for when buying
- Choose heavy, firm bulbs with dry outer skins. Avoid bruises, soft patches and sprouting bulbs.
- Check whether a recipe means a bulb onion or spring onions. Onion powder and onion salt are different products.
Prepare & cook
- Remove the dry skin and trim the ends; use a sharp knife on a stable board.
- Chop evenly for soup. In lentil patties, cook the bulb onion as directed; fresh spring onions have a separate role.
Store it well
- Keep whole bulbs cool, dry and ventilated.
- Refrigerate cut onion in a sealed container and use it promptly. Freeze extra cut onion for later use in cooked dishes.
Substitutions depend on the dish
In a cooked soup base
A different bulb-onion type can work; expect changes in sweetness, color and pungency.
For fresh spring onions
Do not assume a chopped bulb onion will give the same mild green finish. Follow the recipe or choose another recipe.
Related skills
Preparation & Knife Skills
Fine chopping by hand
Keep small vegetable pieces distinct instead of turning them into a watery paste.
Nutrition
Raw bulb onion [1]
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 40 kcal |
| Protein | 1.1 g |
| Total fat | 0.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.04 g |
| Carbohydrate | 9.34 g |
| Dietary fiber | 1.7 g |
| Total sugars | 4.24 g |
| Sodium | 4 mg |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Calcium | 23 mg |
| Iron | 0.21 mg |
| Potassium | 146 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg |
A generic raw-food reference, not a separate analysis of every variety, prepared form or cooked dish. Values are rounded for readability; “not reported” does not mean zero. A “<” value is below the source’s measurement limit.
Nutrition values come from the reference source named above. They are published reference values, not our own measurements. Actual products and cooking methods may change the values.
At the Turkish table
Our red lentil soup starts with chopped onion. Mercimek köftesi uses both cooked bulb onion and fresh spring onions, showing why their names should remain separate.
Cook with Onion
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