Reform for lenient Italian (10)
I believe the answer is:
florentine
'italian' is the definition.
(I know that Florentine is a type of italian)
'reform for lenient' is the wordplay.
'reform' indicates an anagram (letters in a new form).
'for'+'lenient'='forlenient'
'forlenient' with letters rearranged gives 'FLORENTINE'.
(Other definitions for florentine that I've seen before include "Biscuit with nuts and fruit" , "One kind of Italian" .)