Green Gazpacho with Thyme-pickled Mussels

In a blender, blitz the apple with the ice. Line a strainer with muslin (cheesecloth) and place over a bowl to catch the liquid. Pour the blitzed apples into the muslin, then suspend the mixture over the strainer. It will take 1 hour for enough liquid to gather in the bowl. You will need 400 ml (13½ fl oz) of clear apple water. 

When you’re ready to make the gazpacho, soak the sourdough bread in 100 ml (3½ fl oz) of the apple water and set aside. Add the remaining apple water, all the vegetables, vinegar, 50 ml (1¾ fl oz) of the olive oil, sugar, chilli flakes and 2 of the garlic cloves to a blender. Blitz everything together; it should be quite thin. Throw in the herbs to get the maximum colour, blitz briefly, then add the soaked bread to thicken the dish and blitz again. Season with salt to taste and set aside in the refrigerator in a pouring jug. 

For the mussels, put a large saucepan over a high heat, then throw the mussels in and pour over the white wine. Cover with a lid and cook for about 1 minute, until they open. Remove from the heat and let it cool down before removing the mussels from their shells, checking them individually for beards. In a small saucepan bring the vinegar, sugar, thyme leaves and thinly sliced garlic to the boil then pour it over the white onion. Once the onion has gone slightly limp, add in the mussels to cool it down. The mussels can stay in the pickling juice anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours.

Just before serving, brush the slices of bread with a touch of the remaining oil, then char on a hot griddle on each side until it is a little burnt. Using the bread as if it was a grater, rub the remaining garlic clove on the bread. 

Spoon the mussels and the onion into bowls, garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and pour over a dash of olive oil for freshness. Present the bread on a plate to the side. Put the gazpacho into a saucepan and whisk over a medium heat. Warm to around 70°C (160°F) or to the point where it is just to hot to touch, then pour into the bowls and serve.