Onions are available all year. Main crop British onions are available fresh from the fields in August and September, and from cold storage until the following July.

Choose onions that are firm and regular in shape, with tight, dry, papery skins. Avoid any with shrivelled skins or any that feel soft around the neck or are sprouting green shoots. If possible, select individual bulbs when shopping, rather than buying them ready-packed.

Onions store well, especially if kept in a cool, airy larder or shed. Ideally they should be tied on a string or raffia rope and hung somewhere cool and dry. Otherwise, store them in a paper bag in a vegetable rack for up to ten days. Keeping them in the fridge will cause them to soften.

Peel and chop onions before freezing them in convenient portion sizes. They will be a little mushy when defrosted because of their water content, but can be cooked from frozen in soups, stews and casseroles.

Onions can be used as flavouring or as a vegetable in their own right. They can be fried, boiled, roasted, grated and sautéed, or used as a classic ingredient in dishes such as onion soup, onion tart, onion marmalade and Spanish tortilla.

More onion recipes

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More onion recipes

Barbecue ribs with hot slaw and cowboy butter Jersey Royals

Quick and easy shepherd’s pie

Monkfish jalfrezi and spiced coconut kale

Maylasian chicken curry

Parsi-style fried chicken (Murghi na faarcha)

Beef and lentil meatball subs with tomato sauce and ricotta

Homemade pork and prawn dumplings

Lamb and feta burgers with potato wedges and slaw

Denver steak with creamed chard

The OG burger

Beef fillet tataki with onion ponzu salsa and garlic

Grilled sirloin with garlic roasted potatoes, shaved asparagus and herb sauce

Fried chicken, potato salad and dirty rice

Butter chicken spheres

Slow cooked Greek greens

Fried chicken, ital vegetables and rundown sauce

Pineapple barbecued chicken with salsa and barbecue sauce

Rack of lamb with ‘spring on a plate’

Falafel burger

Pork and halloumi koftes with tzatziki and olive slaw

Wild mushroom ragu

Vegetable lasagne

Meatloaf sarnie

Slow roast leg of lamb with peppercorn and nutmeg and pilau rice

Buyer's guide

Storage

Preparation

Varieties of onion

Leek

Red onion

Shallot

Spring onion

Typically made with onion

Beef stock

Bhaji

Chicken curry

Crispy onions

Minestrone soup

Other vegetables

Artichoke

Asparagus

Aubergine

Bamboo shoots

Beans

Capsicum

Celery

Daikon

Fennel

Gourd

Japanese pumpkin

Peas

Pumpkin

Radish

Salsify

Samphire

Squash

Sweetcorn

Water chestnut

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