Forget everything you think you know about turkey burgers. This turkey burger is not dry, overcooked, or flavorless. I don’t think I’m overselling when I tell you this is the best turkey burger you will ever eat.

The recipe is adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s beautiful book, Jerusalem: A Cookbook. If you’ve never heard of Ottolenghi, get to know him. His work is incredible and every time I read one of his recipes, I can’t get into the kitchen fast enough to take it for a test run. His cookbooks are filled with inspired recipes and stunning photography. If you collect cookbooks, this one should top your wish list. You can find the book here.

This turkey burger is packed with shredded zucchini, fresh herbs, and spices. It’s moist, loaded with flavor, and a huge hit in my house. The ultimate test for new recipes is my discriminating family. I love them dearly but I live with some discriminating, opinionated food critics.

The first test was my daughter, Lily. Every day when she gets home from school, she drops her backpack at the door and heads to the kitchen. She does a lap around the island to see what the day’s testing loot has for her. Most times, she shrugs off my hard work and heads for the pantry.

On this day, she circled the island and stopped dead in her tracks in front of the plate of turkey burger patties. To my surprise, she asked if she could try one and then immediately devoured two patties. She loved them! Next up was my husband. I served the turkey burger patties over salad with sumac sauce. After the first bite he looked up and me and said, “Wow. Just wow.” If you know my husband, that’s like a standing ovation. A legitimate two thumbs up rave. I knew I had nailed it.

My take dials back on just about everything in the original recipe. I serve this over salad for the grown ups and on a bun for the kids. The sauce is fantastic and if you are looking to take it to another level, consider going to the extra effort and making caramelized onions. You’ll be glad you did.

Enjoy!