Preheat the barbecue to medium-hot.

Prepare the salad first, as some of the components are required to make the dressing.

Preheat the grill to medium, lay the bacon rashers in a single layer over a baking tray and grill the bacon for about 8 minutes or until golden brown and crispy all over, turning once.

Remove from the heat, then drain and reserve all the fat.

Roughly chop all the cooked bacon into strips or pieces.

Set the bacon pieces and reserved fat aside at room temperature.

Wash the Little Gem lettuces and cut them in half, then season lightly with salt and pepper.

Place the lettuce halves, cut-side down, over a medium-hot barbecue and cook for 5–8 minutes or until golden bar marks appear.

Turn them over and barbecue on the reverse side for another 5 minutes or so.

Remove the cooked lettuces to a plate and set aside until the dressing is made.

Cut each avocado in half lengthways, then remove the stone and skin.

Cut 2 of the halves into slices, then, using a melon baller, cut 2 largish balls from each of the remaining avocado halves to make 4 balls in total.

Place the avocado balls and slices on a large plate, then drizzle over the lemon juice.

To make the dressing, measure all the ingredients into the jug of a hand-held stick blender and season to taste with salt and pepper, then blend together until very smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

To serve the salad, spoon some of the dressing onto each serving plate, then arrange the avocado slices and balls on the plates and season with salt and pepper.

Cut each barbecued lettuce in half and serve 2 quarters on each plate.

Scatter the bacon pieces over the top, then drizzle over a little more dressing to taste, if you like.

Serve immediately with crusty bread or as an accompaniment at a barbecue.