French Onion Soup

Wonderfully aromatic and a great depth of taste, this soup is a delight on a cold evening. Loads of onions in the soup, served with a loaf of warm toasted garlic bread, would readily make it a meal by itself

Ingredients
4 large onions- thinly sliced
6 large pods of garlic- peeled and chopped very fine
1 tsp Butter / Margarine
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt to taste
1 tsp pepper powder
Vegetable / chicken stock ( optional)
Grated cheese ( preferably mozzarella) to garnish if desired

Place a large pot to heat. Place the butter / Nutralite margarine in a large pot. Throw in the garlic and sliced onions with a bit of sugar. Sugar helps caramelize the onions, ie browns them as they are cooking. Keep the flame on SIM and let the onions become dark brown, taking care to stir them around occasionally to prevent burning.
Once onions turn dark brown, which will take around 15 min on a low flame, add 6 cups of water or stock. Vegetable / chicken stock gives a further depth of flavour and a slow cooked taste to the soup. However, water is a convenient alternative, without much compromise in taste.
Let the soup come to a boil. Add the dark soy sauce and salt to taste. You may add a mixture of 1 tbsp wheat flour dissolved in water, to the soup, if you want to thicken it. Allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
Serve the soup piping hot in bowls, garnished with pepper and grated cheese.

Note:

Traditionally French onion soup, is served with slices of toasted bread covered with grated cheese, that are floated over the soup and baked for a few minutes in a hot oven, to melt the cheese.

You could serve the warm bread by the side too !