Fish Soup from Zarela's Veracruz: Mexico's Simplest Cuisine by Zarela Martínez

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 Pickled jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into thin slices
• 1 2-to-3- pound fish, cleaned and scaled, or four 6-to-8-ounce fish steaks
• 1 medium-sized white onion, sliced into thin half-moons
• 2 large fresh hoja santa leaves, cut into thin strips, or 4 dried leaves, crumbled
• 8 cups water or Basic Fish Stock
• 1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste