Red Snapper with Paprika and Cayenne, Lime Butter

Red snapper fillets brushed with melted butter, coated in paprika, cayenne, garlic, onion powder and thyme, then seared in a hot pan for two minutes a side. Finished with lime zest butter. Ten minutes, one pan, and a crust that smells like a grill.

• 1 to 1¼ lb red snapper fillets, skin on or off
• 1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
• 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Oil for frying
• 1 lemon or lime

Serves two to three.

1. In a small bowl, mix the paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and thyme.
2. Heat a heavy frying pan over high heat. Pat the fillets dry, brush them with a little of the melted butter and coat them generously with the spice mix.
3. When the pan is hot, add the oil, lay the fish in and cook 2 minutes on each side, until the crust is dark and the flesh flakes.
4. Stir the lemon or lime zest into the rest of the melted butter and pour it over the fish. Serve with a wedge of lime and fresh herbs.

I sear the snapper in a hot pan so the spices toast and brown in the first minute and build a dark, aromatic crust before the fish overcooks. Two minutes a side is exact: snapper is lean and thin and goes from just cooked to dry in a minute, so the crust carries the flavor while the inside only turns opaque and flakes. The fat in the butter binds the cayenne, so its heat spreads as a slow warmth instead of a burn. Zest is aroma, not acid: the oils in the lime peel, melted into warm butter, send the citrus scent up through your nose as you eat, and the butter carries it over the whole fillet. The wedge on the plate is for the acid.

Either. With skin, start skin side down and press the fillet flat for the first 30 seconds so it does not curl.

The flesh turns opaque and flakes when you press it with a fork; with a thermometer, 145°F at the thickest part.

Yes: grouper, mahi-mahi or tilapia, cooked the same way, a little longer if the fillet is thick.

Warm, not hot. For less heat, use ¼ teaspoon of cayenne; for more, add a pinch of black pepper too.

Rice, a green salad, or grilled vegetables, and the lime wedge.

I am Marina Staver, a private chef in Miami and South Florida. I cook dinners in people's homes: birthdays, anniversaries, dinner parties, quiet evenings for two on a Wednesday. I plan the menu around what you actually like, shop for it, cook it in your kitchen and leave it clean.

From $200 per guest plus groceries, $2,000 event minimum. Your all-in quote comes within 24 hours. See what a private chef costs in Miami, or tell me about your date.

More: private chef services in Miami · a chef for your dinner party · more recipes from my kitchen

Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (fish 145°F), fsis.usda.gov.