Peel the garlic cloves and cut each in half lengthwise top to bottom.
Rinse the octopus and drain very well.
Pick the leaves of parsley and chop roughly.
Place a medium-large thick-based pot on medium-high heat and add olive oil until the base is covered liberally.
Cook the garlic until the edges just start to go brown, turn the heat right up, add the octopus, and cracked pepper and stir well. (Octopus can be salty when cooked so do not add any salt at this stage).
Once the octopus is heated through and is cooking away (about 2 minutes), add a good splash of white wine (the octopus should be half covered in liquid), reduce the heat to low, add a handful of parsley, stir and cover.
Stir the octopus every 20 minutes to ensure even cooking.