Pan-seared then baked chicken thighs with lemon pepper pan sauce and roasted sweet potatoes

Skin side down, cut along the thigh bone with a sharp boning or poultry knife, around the knob to free one end, then lift and cut down along the bone; square off the cartilage chunk at the top.

Dry brine: sprinkle salt over the thighs and refrigerate overnight to season the meat and dry the skin.

Preheat the oven to 400F and start roasting the sweet potatoes.

Set a carbon steel or cast iron pan over medium-high heat with a tiny coating of oil; add the thighs skin side down as it warms and let the fat render until the skin releases easily, crisp and golden; turn the heat up if it sticks.

Put the whole pan in the oven with the sweet potatoes and cook to roughly 175 internal; rest the chicken.

Leave a little fat in the pan over medium heat; toast crushed garlic and about 30 cranks of black pepper for 30 seconds.

Add chicken stock and let it reduce; stir a little stock into cornstarch, pour in the slurry and reduce until the sauce leaves a path when swiped with a spoon.

Stir in freshly grated lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh parsley; taste.

Make a bed of roasted sweet potatoes, spoon over pan sauce, lay the sliced chicken on top and finish with more sauce.