The Beavers' Feast: trout, potatoes, and marmalade roll

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the four children take refuge at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Mr. Beaver catches trout in a hole in the ice, Mrs. Beaver fries them, and the meal ends with a warm marmalade roll. Here is our version for six people.

Spoiler alert: the page describes the visit to the Beavers, in the middle of the book (chapter 7), without mentioning what happens next.

The meal in the book

The Beavers' house is built on their dam, in the middle of the frozen river. While Mr. Beaver and Peter are fishing, the girls help Mrs. Beaver: they fill the kettle, set the table, and cook the potatoes. The trout go straight from the icy water into the frying pan. After the fish, Mrs. Beaver takes a marmalade roll out of the oven, steaming and sticky as desired.

Fried trout with butter

• 6 small trout, gutted (or 6 trout fillets)
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 60 g of butter
• 1 lemon, some parsley, salt and pepper

1. Rinse and dry the trout, then season the inside with salt and pepper.
2. Roll them in flour and tap to remove excess.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. When it starts to foam, place the trout in the pan.
4. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side (3 minutes for fillets), basting with butter.
5. Serve with lemon wedges and parsley.

Potatoes

• 1.2 kg firm-fleshed potatoes
• a knob of butter, salt

1. Peel the potatoes and place them in a pan of cold salted water.
2. Boil for about 20 minutes: the tip of a knife should slide in without resistance.
3. Drain and serve with butter, just like at the Beavers'.

Marmalade roll

• 250 g flour
• 1 packet of baking powder (11 g)
• 30 g sugar
• 125 g cold butter
• about 120 ml milk
• 200 g orange marmalade
• a little milk and sugar for glazing

1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar. Add the butter in cubes and rub between your fingers until you obtain a coarse sand.
3. Gradually add the milk to form a soft dough, without kneading it too much.
4. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 25 × 30 cm on a floured surface.
5. Spread the marmalade evenly, leaving 2 cm free around the edges, then roll up the dough lengthwise.
6. Place the roll on the baking tray, seam side down. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm, in thick slices.

For staging

• A wooden table, thick plates and bowls of milk for the children.
• A ham on the board: at the Beavers', hams hang from the ceiling.
• Finally, a large teapot, like Mrs. Beaver's.

Safety: frying and baking should be done by an adult. Watch out for bones with the little ones: trout fillets are safer.

Other recipes and activities

• Mr. Tumnus' tea.
• The recipe for loukoums.
• The Narnia beavers, in our encyclopedia.