Roasted Salt and Pepper Chicken with Pan-Fried Potatoes

“This recipe brings me back to the days when I was first living on my own and had limited funds. If you work in the restaurant business, sometimes the best meal of your week is a staff meal provided by the restaurant. Young chefs are kind of like starving artists: Passion fuels what they do, but it’s hard to support yourself when you’re starting out. I learned early on that whole chicken legs are an affordable cut of protein that offer big flavor. I would buy a package of chicken legs, a couple of potatoes, and some hot sauce, and that would be my big meal of the week. This recipe still holds and makes my family happy—we’re fans of eating with our hands. Make sure the skin is intact on the chicken legs. The crisp skin is the best part.” —Jeremy Sewall