My recipe calls for 15 shallots, whole. Does that mean to count multiple "cloves" on the bulb as a single shallot? Or do I count each "clove" as one?

I agree with the consensus...but I'm really just dying to know what recipe you're making that calls for 15 shallots?!

Don't think of shallots as if they were heads of garlic. In a recipe one shallot means just that.

This is a bit difficult, because the shallots sold in stores for the most part are not true shallots- they are a hybrid with an type of onion (I think red torpedo onion, but don't quote me on that). True shallots are a good deal smaller, typically, so you neeed to know which the author was thinking of.

Thank you so much

I agree with CV. However, when they are big, I count each clove as one. They happen to be huge at my store right now. I do the same with garlic. If the cloves are huge, I use fewer.

Typically when recipes call for a shallot, the recipe author is referring to the entire bulb, not just one clove.