Collard Greens with Spiced Pears

This weekend, I was given a beautiful

basket of very large home grown pears. They were quite firm - I thought they would be perfect for cooking. So I made a batch of butternut squash and pear soup.
There were still many pears left over and I began searching around for a savory way to use the pears.  I found this recipe by Mary Ellen Driscoll, posted on Fine Cooking. She uses slivered almonds, lightly toasted to
sprinkle on afterwards, but I chose not to use almonds. The pears are a pleasant addition to collard greens. Mostly when I’ve tried making collards, they seem a bit bitter, but the spiced pears gave the greens just the right balance of not too sweet and not too bitter.

Ingredients

1 bunch of collard greens - trimmed, center stalk removed and cut crosswise into strips
4 pears, peeled, seeded and cut lengthwise into 12 slices
3 shallots
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
pinch of ground cloves
salt and pepper
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted (optional)

Directions

Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a skillet and stir in cinnamon, cayenne and cloves. In a medium bowl, gently toss the pears with the spiced butter mixture and add 1/4 teaspoon salt and a shake of pepper.

Place the pears in a layer in the skillet and add 2 shallots chopped. Cook undisturbed over medium-low heat until the pears are golden on one side (about 3 minutes) then gently turn the pears over and cook until pears are golden brown. Transfer the pears and shallots to a plate. Add the remaining chopped shallots to the pan and saute till golden brown, add 1/3 cups water to the pan and stir scraping the bottom of the pan. Transfer the shallots and any liquid to a small bowl. Wipe the skillet clean.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat until shimmering hot. Add half of the collard greens (which you have trimmed, removed the center stalk, and cut the leaves into strips crosswise.)quickly stirring and turning. Once the greens have begun to wilt, after about 30 seconds, add the remaining greens, turning and stirring briefly. Pour the shallots and liquid over the greens. Reduce the heat to a gently simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Braise until the collards are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the pears.
Serve with almonds scattered on top (optional)