I recently found myself with an abundance of dried Great Northern beans, and if you stopped by here last time, you saw that I took some of those beans to make Tomato-y White Beans.

I had cooked up a huge batch, so I needed to come up with something else. And, as I also said last time, because it’s summer, I’ve had access to a bunch of tomatoes. Well, both they went into a food processor for a white bean spread. With a few additional ingredients, this is a flavorful, filling, yet light, snack. It’s also perfect to taking to a picnic or barbecue.

Although I started with dried Great Northern beans and cooked them myself, you can do this with canned beans as well. Two 15- to 16-ounce cans of beans will give you approximately 4 cups. Serve this with toast and crudités. Enjoy!

Mediterranean White Bean Spread

Makes 1½ cups.

4 cups cooked white beans (I used Great Northern)
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ cup parsley (stems are okay)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the beans in a food processor and pulse a few times (just to break up the beans a bit).Add the remaining ingredients, plus 2 tablespoons water. Process until fairly smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust to suit your taste.Spoon the spread into a bowl, garnish it if you like, and serve at room temperature.

Keep leftovers sealed in the refrigerator up to 5 days.