A staple in many households, shepherd's pie is easy to experiment with by adding more vegetables to the filling or even swapping white potatoes for sweet ones on top.

British chef James Martin has another suggestion, to substitute lamb mince for something even better.

Sharing the recipe from his popular cooking show, James Martin's Saturday Morning, the chef described it as the "best ever shepherd's pie".

He said: "Slow cooked lamb, a creamy mash topping and beautiful, sweet, buttery vichy carrots! Perfection!"

The trick here is to use slow-cooked lamb shoulder for the meaty base, which can be done hands-free in a slow cooker or on the hob. James also makes a French glaze for the carrots to ensure they don't get lost in the other flavours.

James Martin's shepherd's pie recipe

Ingredients

2kg lamb shoulder joint

Two large white onions

300ml red wine

500ml chicken stock

One garlic bulb halved

Eight large carrots

Four star anise

75g caster sugar

25g butter

For the mashed potato

900g potatoes, cut into chunks

A knob of butter

A drizzle of cream

How to make shepherd's pie

First, preheat the oven to 170C then prepare the vegetables. Peel the onions dice them up, then peel the carrots and chop the tops off, or leave the green stalks on for show if they're nice and leafy.

Add the onions and halved garlic bulb to the roasting tray (or slow cooker), and top with the lamb shoulder. Season well with salt and pepper, then pour over the wine, stock and rosemary.

Cook in the oven for two to three hours until tender and brown then remove from the oven to rest. When cool enough, shred the lamb and place in an ovenproof dish where the rest of the pie will be assembled.

Heat the leftover liquid with the onions and garlic on the hob, then add a little flour to thicken. Spoon in a knob of butter for taste, then pour over the lamb in the dish.

Peel and quarter the potatoes then cook in boiling water until fluffy and soft. Drain, return to the pan and mash with a knob of butter.

Drizzle in some cream, or milk to loosen, but don't add too much. Stir through until creamy and thick then top the lamb mixture with the mashed potato.

Turn the oven up to 200C and bake the pie for one hour. For the carrots, place the carrots, star anise and sugar in a saucepan, cover in water then bring to a boil.

Simmer for 20 minutes before adding the butter and cream, then, when melted, drizzle over the carrots and serve alongside the pie.