Smoky Vegetarian Gumbo

Preheat the oven to its highest temperature setting, which is typically referred to as 'broil'. Place the serrano, banana, and jalapeno chile peppers on a baking sheet and put them in the oven. Monitor closely and cook just until the skins turn dark and blister, taking about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the peppers over and continue cooking until all sides are equally darkened. Remove the peppers from the oven and place them in a sealed paper bag to steam. After 15 to 20 minutes, take the peppers out of the bag and carefully peel off the crispy black skin. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers, chop them coarsely, and place them in a bowl.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a small amount of flour sprinkled over the oil starts to bubble. Whisk in the remaining flour and cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture is well combined and dark brown, taking around 20 minutes. Once it reaches this stage, remove the mixture from the heat.

Put 2 tablespoons of canola oil into a deep soup pot and heat it over medium-high heat. When the oil is almost smoking, stir in half of the celery and onions along with some bell peppers. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender and the onion is transparent, taking about 5 minutes. Stir in a quarter cup of vegetable broth into the pot. Cover it and let it simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, taking around 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir the serrano, banana, and jalapeno chile peppers along with some uncooked bell peppers and onions, garlic, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika file powder into the cooked bell peppers and onions. Stir the roux and 1 cup of stock into the vegetable mixture until the roux dissolves. Cover it again and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add some tomatoes, sweet potato, parsnip, red beans, black-eyed peas, okra, and the remaining stock. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.