An empty form of recompense (7)
I believe the answer is:
payment
'recompense' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'an empty form' is the wordplay.
'form' is an anagram indicator (another form of the letters).
'an'+'empty'='anempty'
'anempty' anagrammed gives 'PAYMENT'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for payment that I've seen before include "Recompense, reward" , "Handing over money" , "Remuneration - outlay" , "Purchase price" , "Settlement, remittance" .)