Rinse lentils and drain. Place lentils, onions and bay leaf in medium large saucepan with enough water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a simmer over medium heat then reduce heat to very low, cover, and cook very gently 20 minutes. Uncover, stir in salt, and add water if necessary to just cover the lentils. Continue cooking gently, covered, 10 to 25 minutes until lentils are just cooked through (creamy, not floury in the center, but not mushy either).

Frozen pearl onions are a super easy way to introduce a savory note to legumes as they are cooking. Lentils are the quickest cooking member of the legume family and need no soaking since the seed coat is very thin.