I tend to eat a lot of avocado with Japanese inspired dishes. Usually sliced atop a sticky grilled chicken or fish with rice, cucumber and pickled ginger or mixed with mayo and sesame seeds for a luscious quick sauce. It was as I was remembering a delicious appetizer of crispy rice with avocado and spicy tuna from Japango in Boulder that I got the idea to do something similar with whole grains and a beloved brown butter balsamic sauce. <br /> <br />I chose to use pearl barley which gets wonderfully creamy and fries up super crispy and added some chopped hazelnuts and green onion for garnish. The results were great- a crispy, nutty cake with rich, creamy avocado and slightly sweet sticky sauce. <br /> <br />The barley can be made ahead of time- or even use leftover barley as long as you've cooked it to a creamy enough consistency.

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