[Scuba]

Once the tomato starts to break down and you see some liquid in the pot add the tomato paste (half can used). I just put a cling film over the other half of the tomato paste and put it into the fridge. That is because I know I will use it within the next couple of days. If you don't know what you are going to do with it, scoop out the rest with a tablespoon (actually measurement spoons are good) and freeze the balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, put into a ziplock bag. Than you can pull out whatever you need and use them at your leisure.

1) After the tomato paste, I also throw in a big pinch of sugar to counter balance the sourness of the tomato
2) Once everything is nicely cooked, I add the stock and water (no need for a crazy amount of stock)
3) Let the soup come to a boil then add the barley and potato, let that shimmer and cook for a while before adding the cabbage